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THE  GRAND  OPERA  SINGERS 
OF  TO-DAY 


THE  MUSIC  LOVERS'  SERIES 

The  following,  each,  $2.00 
GREAT  COMPOSERS  AND  THEIR  WORK 

By  Louis  C.  Elson 

FAMOUS  SINGERS  OF  TO-DAY  AND  YESTERDAY 

By  Henry  C.  Lahee 

FAMOUS  VIOLINISTS  OF  TO-DAY  AND  YESTERDAY 

By  Henry  C.  Lahee 

FAMOUS  PIANISTS  OF  TO-DAY  AND  YESTERDAY 

By  Henry  C.  Lahee 

GRAND  OPERA  IN  AMERICA 

By  Henry  C.  Lahee 

A  HISTORY  OF  OPERA 

By  Arthur  Elson 

THE  ORGAN  AND  ITS  MASTERS 

By  Henry  C.  Lahee 

SHAKESPEARE  IN  Music 

By  Louis  C.  Elson 

WOMAN'S  WORK  IN  Music 

By  Arthur  Elson 

The  following,  each,  $2.50 

MODERN    COMPOSERS   OF    EUROPE  —  New   Revised 
Edition 

By  Arthur  Elson 

ORCHESTRAL    INSTRUMENTS    AND    THEIR    USE  — 
New  Revised  Edition 
By  Arthur  Elson 

THE  NATIONAL  MUSICOF  AMERICA  AND  ITS  SOURCES 
New  Revised  Edition 
By  Louis  C.  Elson 

The  -following,  each,  $3.00 
AMERICAN  COMPOSERS 

By  Rupert  Hughes  and  Arthur  Elson 

THE   GRAND   OPERA    SINGERS  OF   TO-DAY  —  New 
Revised  Edition 

By  Henry  C.   Lahee 

The  following,  price,  $4.00 
THE  LOVE  AFFAIRS  OF  GREAT  MUSICIANS 

By  Rupert  Hughes 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

MARY  GARDEN  AS  JEAN  IN  "  LE  JONGLEUR  DE  NOTRE  DAME 


THE  GRAND  OPERA 

SINGERS  OF 

TO-DAY 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 


LEADING     OPERATIC      STARS      WHO 

HAVE  SUNG  DURING  RECENT  YEARS, 

TOGETHER  WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE 

CHIEF  OPERATIC  ENTERPRISES 


BY 

HENRY  C.  LAHEE 

Author  of  "  Famous  Singers  of  To-day  and  Yes- 
terday,"  "  Grand   Opera   in   America," 
Famous   Pianists   of    To-day 
and  Yesterday,"  etc. 


New    Revised    Edition 


3E  PAGE  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
THE  PAGE  COMPANY 

Copyright,  1922,  by 
THE  PAGE  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


Made  in  U.  S.  A. 


PRINTED  BY  C.  H.  SIMONDS   COMPANY 
BOSTON,  MASS.,  U.  S.  A. 


ML 


6 


PREFACE 


IN  writing  "  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of 
To-day  "  the  object  has  been  to  give  some  ac- 
count of  the  leading  singers  who  have  been 
heard  in  America  during  the  present  century. 
Those  whose  careers  have  been  touched  upon 
in  "  Famous  Singers  of  Yesterday  and  To- 
day," and  in  "  Grand  Opera  in  America  "  are 
not  mentioned,  except  perhaps  casually,  in  this 
book. 

The  plan  adopted  has  been  to  follow  the 
histories  of  the  various  opera  houses,  taking 
each  singer  as  he  appeared  in  opera  in  America. 

This  book  is  not  intended  to  be  used  as  a 
text  book,  or  as  a  work  of  accurate  history. 
Undoubtedly  also  there  are  some  singers  who 
should  be  mentioned  and  have  not  been;  but 
the  writer  has  endeavored  to  get  in  all  the 
greatest,  and  those  of  the  rising  singers  whose 
history  is  likely  to  be  of  interest  to  the  public. 

The  criticisms  have  been  selected  with  care, 


vi  Preface 

and  are  always  from  the  most  authoritative 
critics,  even  though  they  sometimes  directly 
contradict  one  another.  Such  contradictions 
only  emphasize  the  difficulties  of  the  singer. 

HENRY  C.  LAHEE. 


CONTENTS 

PART   I 

CHAPTER  PACK 

PREFACE  v 

I.    THE  METROPOLITAN  OPERA-HOUSE  UNDER  MAU- 
RICE GRAU 1 

II.    THE  METROPOLITAN  OPERA-HOUSE  UNDER  HEIN- 

RICH   CONRIED 19 

III.  THE    MANHATTAN   OPERA-HOUSE   UNDER   OSCAR 

HAMMERSTEIN 121 

IV.  THE  METROPOLITAN  OPERA  -  HOUSE  UNDER  GATTI- 

CASAZZA  AND  DIPPEL 260 

V.    THE  BOSTON  OPERA  -  HOUSE  UNDER  HENRY  RUS- 
SELL        357 

VI.    THE    CHICAGO  -  PHILADELPHIA    COMPANY    UNDER 

ANDREAS  DIPPEL 420 

VII.     CONCLUSION 444 

INDEX  ...  .  453 


PART   II 

:HAPTEE  PAGE 

I.    THE  METROPOLITAN  OPERA  COMPANY,  1912-1922  455 

II.    THE  CHICAGO  OPERA  ASSOCIATION;  1912-1922    .  498 

INDEX  531 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

MARY  GARDEN  AS  JEAN   IN  "  LE  JONGLEUR  DE  NOTRE 

DAME  "  (see  page  210)     .       .       .       .       .      Frontispiece 

ENRICO  CARUSO 28  l 

OLIVE  FREMSTADT  AS  ISOLDE       . f  •  .       .       .       .       .      48 

BESSIE  ABOTT .       .       .       .54 

MARIE  RAPPOLD 58 

GERALDINE  FARRAR  AS  MANON  .       .       ;  •=    .       .      82  ^ 

BERTA  MORENA      - 100 

LUISA  TETRAZZINI 128  u 

ELEANORA  DE  CISNEROS  AS  ORTRUD  IN  "  LOHENGRIN  "  147 

ALESSANDRO  BONCI 150 

MAURICE  RENAUD 156 

MARY  GARDEN  AS  SALOME  180  ^ 

JEANNE  GERVILLE  -  REACHE  AS  FRICKA  IN  "  DIE  WAL- 

KURE  " 190  • 

GIOVANNI  ZENATELLO  AS  LOEWE  IN  "  GERMANIA  "         .  198 

HECTOR  DUFRANNE  AS  ATHANAEL  IN  "  THAIS  "     .       .  206 

CARMEN  MELIS 237 

GUSTAV  HUBERDEAU  AS  HIGH  PRIEST  IN  "  SAMSON  ET 

DALILA" 240 

EMMY  DESTINN ,  266 

MARIA  GAY .  272 

BELLA  ALTEN  AS  NEDDA  IN  "  IL  PAGLIACCI  "         .       .  277  ^ 

RICCARDO  MARTIN 282 

CARL  JOHN  AS  LOHENGRIN 286 

PASQUALE  AMATO 290 

ALMA  GLUCK ,  298 

ix 


List  of  Illustrations 


EDMOND  CLEMENT 302 

BBBNICE  DE  PASQUALI  AS  GILDA  IN  "  RIGOLETTO  "        .  310 

MADAME  CHARLES  CAHIER 328 

MARGARETE  MATZENAUR 332 

PUTNAM  GRISWOLD -.  340 

ALICE  NEILSEN 360 

LYDIA  LIPKOWSKA 364 

FELY  DEREYNE 366 

JESKA  SWARTZ 369 

FLORENCIO  CONSTANTINEATI 372 

FLORENCIO  CONSTANTINEAU  AS  CA  VARADOSSI  IN  "  TOSCA  "  376 

BERNICE  FISHER 388 

JOSE  MARDONES  AS  RAMFIS  IN  "  AID  A  "          ...  390 

ELIZABETH  AMSDEN  . 392 

EVELYN  SCOTNEY 394 

EDWARD  LANKOW      . 396 

VANNI  MARCOUX 398 

LUCILLE  MARCEL .       .       .       .  406 

CAROLINA  WHITE   AND  SAMMARCO  IN  "  SECRET  OF  SU- 
ZANNE " 426 

MAGGIE  TEYTE  AS  CINDERELLA  IN  "  CENDRILLON  "       .  433 

MARTA  WITTKOWSKA  AS  AMNERIS  IN  "  AID  A  "         .       .  436 

FRIEDA  HEMPEL 456 

CHARLES  HACKETT  AS  COUNT  ALMAVIDA         .      .      .  489 

AMELITA  GALLI-CURCI  AS  LAKME         .       .  .  512 


PART   I 

GRAND   OPERA   SINGERS 
1903-1911 


THE  GRAND  OPERA 
SINGERS  OF  TO-DAY 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   METROPOLITAN   OPERA-HOUSE  UNDEB  MAURICE 
GRAU 

IN  "  Famous  Singers  of  Yesterday  and  To- 
day," and  "  Grand  Opera  in  America,"  the 
records  of  operatic  doings  were  brought  down 
to  the  season  of  1900-1901,  of  which  Milka  Ter- 
nina  was  the  dominating  personality,  and  dur- 
ing which  Madame  Louise  Homer,  now  in  her 
prime,  made  her  American  debut  in  grand 
opera. 

Jean  de  Reszke  had  withdrawn,  and  did  not 
again  return  to  this  country,  though  his  brother 
Edouard  remained  a  member  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Company  for  some  seasons. 

Gloomy  views  of  the  operatic  situation  were 
taken  by  some  of  the  critics,  and  the  future  of 
grand  opera  in  New  York  (and  consequently 

l 


2      The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

in  other  large  cities)  was  a  question  which 
agitated  the  souls  of  music  lovers.  "  Will  Mr. 
G-rau  discover  some  new  and  phenomenal 
singers  to  take  the  place  of  those  whose  novelty 
has  worn  off,  or  will  he  put  some  new  operas 
on  the  stage?  "  was  a  question  propounded  by 
one  writer. 

Much  doubt  was  expressed  as  to  the  supply 
of  great  singers.  This  was  supposed  to  have 
been  exhausted,  and  it  was  doubtful  also 
whether  opera  as  a  social  function  only  could 
be  successful. 

Maurice  Grau  was,  at  that  time,  director  of 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  and  New  York 
was  still  the  centre  of  operatic  activities,  the 
Metropolitan  Company  visiting  the  other  cities 
of  importance  and  giving  short  seasons  of 
opera.  In  this  way  Boston,  Chicago,  Pittsburg, 
Baltimore  and  Washington  each  had  their  short 
feast  of  opera,  but  Philadelphia  had  to  take 
hers  during  the  New  York  season,  the  company 
visiting  that  city  on  off  nights.  Music  lovers 
in  those  cities  naturally  felt  that  their  lot  was 
hard  when  they  had  to  live  nearly  the  whole 
year  without  opera,  and  then  be  surfeited  with 
it  for  one  or  two  weeks,  practically  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  all  other  occupations. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House         3 

From  this  deplorable  condition,  which,  how- 
ever, was  better  than  nothing,  the  country  is 
gradually  emerging,  and  it  is  the  writer's  task 
to  follow  out,  in  this  book,  the  movements  which 
have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  operatic 
enterprises,  —  sometimes  called  permanent 
opera,  —  in  several  of  the  chief  cities,  and 
make  some  mention  of  many  smaller  companies 
which  now  visit  the  lesser  cities  throughout  the 
country.  Music  lovers  practically  all  over  the 
land  have  opportunities  now  to  hear  the 
standard  operas  sung  by  good,  if  not  great, 
singers. 

Perhaps  a  brief  review  of  the  twenty  years 
which  ended  with  Maurice  Grau's  resignation, 
may  prove  to  be  the  best  method  of  leading  into 
the  period  to  which  this  book  is  devoted. 
Operatic  regimes  had  generally  ended  in  bank- 
ruptcy, but  Maurice  Grau  retired  with  a  mod- 
erate fortune. 

Let  us  go  back  to  the  time  of  Henry  E.  Abbey, 
who  was  the  great  rival  of  Colonel  Mapleson, 
whose  operatic  enterprises  during  the  "  eight- 
ies "  enabled  us  to  hear  many  of  the  greatest 
singers  of  those  days.  Mr.  Abbey's  opening 
year  was  a  notable  one,  and  has  been  called 
one  of  "  sweetness,"  while  the  seven  German 


4      The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

seasons  which  followed  were  not  qualified  in 
the  same  way. 

Mr.  Abbey  opened  his  season  in  1883  with 
Gounod's  "  Faust,"  an  opera  which  still  re- 
tains its  popularity.  The  cast  was,  Campanini, 
as  Faust,  Christine  Nilsson,  as  Margherita, 
Novara,  as  Mephistopheles,  Del  Puente  as 
Valentino,  and  Scalchi  as  Siebel.  Two  days 
later  Madame  Marcella  Sembrich,  who  has  but 
recently  retired  from  grand  opera,  made  her 
American  debut  in  "  Lucia  di  Lammermoor," 
winning  the  golden  opinions  which  she  retained 
to  the  end  of  her  career.  The  other  chief  mem- 
bers of  the  company  were  Madame  Trebelli, 
Madame  Fursch-Madi  (dramatic  soprano) 
Stagno,  a  very  robust  Italian  tenor,  and  Victor 
Capoul,  the  French  tenor. 

One  of  the  great  "  star  casts  "  of  that  season 
was  at  the  performance  of  "  Don  Giovanni  ': 
(Nov.  23,  1883)  with  Sembrich,  Nilsson,  Kach- 
mann,  and  Mirabella,  a  performance  which  has 
been  compared  to  one  given  under  Grau  in  1899 
with  Sembrich,  Nordica,  Maurel  and  Edouard 
de  Eeszke. 

The  one  novelty  of  that  season  was  ' '  La  Gio- 
conda,"  an  opera  which  has  during  the  past 
few  years  become  popular,  but  which  in  the  in- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House         5 

tervening  period  was  not  given  except  by 
Henry  W.  Savage's  English  opera  company. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  tendency  toward  the 
dramatic  as  opposed  to  the  merely  ornamental 
operas,  and  in  1884-1885  Dr.  Leopold  Dam- 
rosch  gave  a  season  of  German  opera,  living 
only  long  enough  to  see  the  artistic  success  of 
his  enterprise.  He  brought  Materna  to  this 
country,  and  after  his  death  Anton  Seidl  was 
imported  to  conduct,  with  Walter  Damrosch 
as  his  assistant.  Then  came  a  series  of  great 
German  singers,  Lilli  Lehmann,  Emil  Fischer, 
Niemann,  Marianne  Brandt,  Vogl  and  Max 
Alvary,  who  brought  new  knowledge  of  "Wag- 
ner and  his  works  to  American  audiences. 

Financial  losses  caused  a  change  of  policy, 
and  Abbey  and  Grau  became  managers,  put- 
ting on  French  and  Italian  operas  again,  with 
Jean  and  Edouard  de  Reszke,  Melba,  Eames, 
Plancon,  and  Lasalle,  as  the  new  attractions. 

The  Metropolitan  Opera-House  was  des- 
troyed by  the  fire  in  1892  and  a  season  with- 
out opera  ensued  during  the  rebuilding,  but  in 
1893-1894  Emma  Calve  as  Carmen  came  into 
view. 

In  1895,  the  De  Reszkes  and  Nordica  gave 
"  Tristan  and  Isolde,"  and  "  sang  "  it,  estab- 


6      The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

lishing  a  new  standard  for  the  performance  of 
Wagner's  operas. 

Then  came  the  Damrosch-Ellis  venture,  which 
lasted  but  a  short  time,  and  Maurice  Grau  re- 
mained in  undisputed  possession  of  the  operatic 
field  for  several  years.  He  adopted  the  policy 
of  giving  each  opera  in  its  own  language, 
and  under  his  management  German  opera 
stood  on  an  equal  footing  with  French  and 
Italian. 

A  review  of  the  New  York  season,  printed 
in  1900,  relates  that  the  season  had  consisted 
of  ninety-six  performances,  including  two  rep- 
resentations of  the  "  Nibelungen  Ring."  The 
company  afterwards  made  a  tour  to  Baltimore, 
Washington,  Pittsburg,  and  gave  twenty-six 
performances  in  Philadelphia.  The  new 
singers  in  the  company  were  Milka  Ternina, 
Theodore  Bertram  (a  Wagnerian  artist), 
Friedrichs  (who  disappointed  the  public  ex- 
pectation in  every  role  but  that  of  Beck- 
messer),  Albert  Alvarez,  and  Pierre  Cornu- 
bert,  tenors,  of  whom  neither  proved  success- 
ful, and  Susan  Strong,  who  was  practically 
new. 

In  1902  the  chief  events  were  the  production 
of  de  Lara's  opera  "  Messaline,"  and  of  Pad- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House         7 

erewski's  "  Manru,"  the  debut  of  Madame 
Eeuss-Belce  as  Elizabeth  in  "  Tannhauser," 
and  the  special  performance  on  the  occasion  of 
the  visit  of  Prince  Henry  of  Germany  to  New 
York.  For  this  performance  the  prices  charged 
were  from  five  dollars  for  a  seat  in  the  family 
circle  to  thirty  dollars  for  an  orchestra  chair, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  a  box 
seating  six  people. 

For  some  time,  in  fact  since  Jean  de  Reszke 
withdrew  from  the  Metropolitan  company, 
there  had  been  much  speculation  as  to  the 
future  of  opera  on  account  of  the  dearth  of 
tenors,  and  few  of  those  who  sang  succeeded, 
at  first,  in  pleasing  the  public.  Among  those 
of  the  season  of  1902  were  Emil  Gerhauser  and 
Aloys  Burgstaller. 

Burgstaller  had  received  all  his  training  at 
the  school  established  by  Madame  Wagner  at 
Bayreuth,  and  had  sung  there,  and  at  Hamburg 
and  Frankfort.  His  chief  successes  were  in 
Wagnerian  roles.  He  sang  at  the  Metropolitan 
for  several  years,  in  fact  until  1909. 

Emil  Gerhauser  was  a  native  of  Krumbach, 
Bavaria.  He  was  born  in  1868  and  educated  by 
the  Benedictine  monks  at  Augsburg.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  sang  at  Munich,  and 


8      The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

was  engaged  there  until  1892.  Later  he  sang 
at  Carlsbad  under  Felix  Mottl,  also  at  Bay- 
reuth. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  singers  brought 
to  America  by  Grau  was  Gilibert,  the  French 
baritone. 

Charles  Gilibert  was  born  in  Paris  in  1867, 
and  received  his  training  at  the  Conservatoire, 
after  which  he  became  a  member  of  the  Opera 
Comique  Company.  His  first  noteworthy  suc- 
cess, however,  was  made  in  Brussels,  at  the 
Theatre  de  la  Monnaie,  and  later  he  repeated 
it  at  Covent  Garden.  He  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  Maurice  Grau  and  made  his  debut 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  on  December 
18,  1900,  as  the  Duke  of  Verona  in  "  Romeo  et 
Juliette. ' '  He  also  sang  in  '  *  La  Boheme, ' '  but, 
during  that  season,  he  made  no  special  success 
in  New  York.  In  the  following  year  he  ap- 
peared as  Sergeant  Sulpice  in  "  La  Figlia  del 
Regimento,"  and  took  New  York  by  storm. 

For  some  unexplained  reason  he  was  not  re- 
engaged by  Conried,  when  Grau  retired,  and  he 
spent  that  season  in  touring  the  country  in 
concert. 

When  Oscar  Hammerstein  opened  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  he  did  not  let  such  an  ex- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House        9 

cellent  artist  escape,  and  Gilibert  was  a  loyal 
member  of  the  Manhattan  Company  as  long  as 
it  existed.  He  was  to  have  appeared  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  1910  in  one  of 
the  roles  in  "  The  Girl,"  which  is  said  to  have 
been  written  especially  for  his  voice,  but  his 
untimely  death  took  place  just  before  the  open- 
ing of  the  season. 

Gilibert  demonstrated  that  secondary  roles 
in  opera  can  be  made  roles  of  great  significance 
in  the  hand  of  a  true  artist.  Thus  he  raised 
into  their  due  importance  the  characters  of 
Domcairo  in  "  Carmen,"  Monterone  in  "  Eigo- 
letto,"  Dr.  Bartolo  in  "II  Barbiere,"  and 
Mazetto  in  "  Don  Giovanni."  He  excelled  in 
the  buffo  parts  in  "  L'Elisir  d'Amore,"  and 
11  Don  Pasquale,"  the  cook  Boniface  in  "  Le 
Jongleur,"  and  the  Sacristan  in  "  Tosca,"  and 
especially  in  the  part  of  the  Father  in 
"  Louise." 

On  the  concert  platform  Gilibert  was  noted 
for  his  rendering  of  the  Folk  songs  and  Eight- 
eenth Century  Chansons  of  Gretry,  Monsigny, 
and  others  of  that  period.  He  was  an  ardent 
supporter  of  his  country's  music,  and  after  his 
last  recital  in  New  York,  in  March,  1910,  he  is 
said  to  have  remarked  to  a  friend,  that  if  he 


10    The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

should  be  called  away  lie  knew  he  had  done  his 
duty  and  reached  the  goal  for  which  he  had 
striven  since  he  came  to  this  country,  viz.,  to 
win  for  the  French  music  a  steady  place  in  the 
hearts  of  Americans. 

Gilibert  was  noted  for  the  polish  and  refine- 
ment which  he  exhibited  in  his  professional 
work  and  in  his  private  life,  and  he  was  the 
quintessence  of  jovialty  and  good  humor.  He 
was  gifted  with  not  one  of  the  greatest  voices, 
but  he  elevated  his  art  through  study  and  the 
highest  perfection  of  style. 

Carrie  Bridewell,  a  contralto,  who  was  ad- 
vised by  Madame  Sembrich  to  take  up  an  opera- 
tic career,  sang  with  the  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany during  the  Grau  regime,  for  three  years. 
At  the  end  of  her  engagement  she  went  to  Ber- 
lin to  study,  and  while  there  sang  at  the  Royal 
Opera-House,  also  in  Vienna,  Olmutz,  Breslau 
and  in  London.  She  made  her  first  appearance 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  the 
"  Magic  Flute,"  in  a  cast  which  included  Sem- 
brich, Eames,  Ternina,  Fritzi  Scheff,  Edouard 
de  Reszke,  Dippel,  and  Campanari.  During 
her  engagement  she  was  heard  as  Ortrud, 
Siebel,  Amneris,  Erda,  Lola,  Maddalena  in 
"  Rigoletto,"  Stephana  in  "  Romeo  et  Juli- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       11 

ette,"  Urbano  in  "  Les  Huguenots  "  and  the 
Shepherd  in  "  Tannhauser." 

Miss  Bridewell  retired  about  1908,  but  re- 
cently resumed  her  professional  activities. 

Marcel  Journet  came  to  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  in  1901.  According  to  the  ac- 
counts published  at  the  time  he  was  born  in 
Nice  in  1868,  and  in  Paris  in  1869.  He  is  said 
to  have  inherited  his  artistic  temperament 
from  his  mother,  and  his  love  for  music  from 
his  father.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  gave  up 
his  commercial  career  and  studied  music  seri- 
ously, entering  the  Conservatoire  at  Paris, 
where  he  took  the  full  course.  His  vocal 
teacher  was  Seghettini,  a  well-known  Italian. 
In  1891  Journet  made  his  debut  at  Bezieres. 
but  after  a  month  or  so  M.  Calabresi,  the  man- 
ager of  the  Theatre  de  la  Monnaie  at  Brussels, 
heard  him  and  offered  him  an  engagement.  He 
remained  at  Brussels  for  six  years,  and  sang 
also  at  Covent  Garden  for  four  seasons,  and 
then  in  most  of  the  musical  centres  of  Eu- 
rope. 

During  his  seasons  in  America  he  was  a 
steady  favorite,  but  in  1908  he  left  for  Europe 
on  the  plea  of  ill  health.  On  being  asked  if 
he  would  return  he  replied  that  "  as  he  desired 


12     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

to  sing  first  bass  roles  as  he  did  in  other  places, 
it  is  necessary  for  him  to  wait  until  he  is  sixty- 
one  years  old  and  has  a  voice  like  a  Cossack 
with  a  cold,  before  the  people  would  call  him  a 
genius  and  pay  him  $1600  a  night,  —  unless  the 
ideas  of  managers  change."  Other  basses  had 
come  to  America,  —  one  other  bass  in  partic- 
ular. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  singers  imported  in 
1902  was  Madame  Kirkby-Lunn,  an  English 
contralto.  She  made  her  debut  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  in  "  Lohengrin,"  when  a 
critic  wrote,  "  She  gave  splendid  utterance  to 
the  role.  Her  singing  was  marked  by  breadth 
of  method,  admirable  notions  of  phrasing  and 
impeccable  intonation.  Her  lower  register  is 
uncommonly  rich,  almost  masculine  in  quality, 
while  the  upper  portion  of  her  voice  is  de- 
cidedly bright  in  color." 

Madame  Kirkby-Lunn  was  afterward  heard 
as  Kundry  in  Henry  W.  Savage's  production 
of  "  Parsifal,"  and  again  later  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House. 

Georg  Anthes  was  one  of  Grau's  leading 
tenors  for  some  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
chief  ornaments  of  the  Dresden  Opera-House. 
Mr.  Grau  had  been  in  communication  with  him 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-Hbuse       13 

for  some  weeks  when  Anthes  sprained  his  knee 
and  petitioned  the  intendant  of  the  Dresden 
Opera-House  to  dissolve  his  contract,  which 
had  still  some  years  to  run.  The  request  was 
refused  and  Anthes  decided  to  accept  Grau's 
offer,  and  break  his  Dresden  contract.  Under 
such  conditions  Anthes  was  unable  to  appear 
in  any  German  opera-house  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  for  several  seasons. 

Maurice  Grau  retired  from  the  management 
of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  1903.  He 
is  remarkable  as  the  first  grand  opera  impre- 
sario to  make  grand  opera  profitable. 

Grau  was  born  at  Brunn,  in  Austria,  in  1846, 
and  came  to  this  country  five  years  later.  He 
began  his  career  as  libretto  boy  in  a  theatre. 
His  education  was  completed  at  Columbia  col- 
lege. At  an  early  age  he  began  to  assist  his 
father,  Jacob  Grau,  a  theatrical  manager,  and 
before  he  reached  his  majority  was  earning  a 
large  salary  as  advance  agent. 

His  managerial  career  commenced  when  he 
and  Chizzola  got  together  a  capital  of  $2500, 
and  brought  Marie  Aimee  and  a  French  com- 
pany to  America. 

It  was  Maurice  Grau  who  took  charge  of  the 


14    The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

memorable  tour  of  Anton  Rubinstein,  the  great 
pianist,  and  later  of  Salvini,  the  Italian  trage- 
dian. Then,  with  Hess,  he  brought  out,  1874, 
Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  and  in  1876,  Offenbach. 
The  Offenbach  enterprise  was  not  successful, 
but,  by  a  happy  thought,  he  combined  Offen- 
bach and  Aimee,  and  saved  himself  from  finan- 
cial loss.  It  is  not  necessary  to  record  his  many 
enterprises,  but  eventually  he  joined  with 
Henry  Abbey  in  the  management  of  grand 
opera,  continuing  alone  after  Abbey's  death. 
He  retired  in  1903,  broken  down  by  overwork, 
and  died  at  Oroissy,  France,  on  March  14,  1907, 
leaving  a  fortune  of  about  half  a  million  dol- 
lars. 

Maurice  Grau's  service  to  music  per  se  was 
not  notable.  He  gave  no  incentive  to  com- 
posers. He  avoided  experiments.  He  had 
little  sentimental  interest  in  grand  opera,  and 
very  little  enthusiasm.  He  simply  tried  to  give 
the  public  what  it  wanted,  —  so  far  as  he  was 
able  to  find  the  public  want.  "  I  have  never 
discovered  a  voice  in  my  life,"  he  is  said  to 
have  remarked,  "  I  have  merely  shown  them 
the  difference  between  singing  at  home  for 
$2000  a  year,  and  here  for  $25,000.  I  don't  go 
around  discovering  operas,  I  am  not  musician 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       15 

enough  for  that.  Opera  is  nothing  but  cold 
business  to  me." 

Although  not  responsible  for  much  that  was 
new,  his  efforts  brought  to  thousands  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  works  of  the  masters  of  music. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  poseur  about  him. 
He  did  not  seek  notoriety.  Operatic  manage- 
ment was  his  only  taste.  The  following  quota- 
tion from  a  letter  written  to  him  by  Edouard 
de  Beszke  at  the  time  of  his  retirement  will 
show  the  opinion  of  the  leading  artists :  ' '  You 
have  made  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
an  International  Theatre,  and  the  leading  one 
of  the  world.  At  the  same  time  you  have  given 
representations  of  the  best  works  of  the  ancient 
and  modern  repertoire  and,  so  to  speak,  com- 
pelled the  public  to  imbibe  taste  for  all  that 
was  good  in  opera." 

The  secret  of  Mr.  Grau's  financial  success 
is  said  to  have  been  his  faith  in  "  all  star  " 
combinations,  and  he  drew  tremendous  houses 
at  increased  prices.  He  did  not  stimulate  the 
musical  appetite  of  the  people  by  giving  them 
new  operas,  but  he  appealed  to  them  very  much 
in  the  same  way  as  the  late  P.  T.  Barnum,  i.  e., 
by  giving  them  "  the  biggest  show  on  earth," 
—  that  is  to  say,  nowhere  could  there  be  found 


16    The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

a  combination  of  so  many  great  singers  as  he 
would  present  in  one  of  his  operatic  perform- 
ances. 

This  policy,  of  course,  tended  to  increase  the 
cost  of  opera.  It  is  related  that  the  subscrip- 
tion for  the  season  in  Mr.  Grau's  day  was 
about  $150,000,  while  at  the  present  day  it  is 
$700,000. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  about  Maurice 
Grau,  by  his  brother  Robert.  Grau  had  just 
closed  his  season  in  Chicago  and  was  return- 
ing to  New  York  in  company  with  his  galaxy 
of  star  singers,  —  Eames,  Calve,  Nordica,  Plan- 
Qon,  the  de  Reszkes,  etc.  They  were  gazing  on 
the  beauties  of  the  scenery  as  the  train  drew 
near  to  the  Catskill  district.  The  season  had 
not  been  lucrative,  —  in  fact  there  had  been  a 
large  deficit.  Mr.  Grau  approached  his  singers 
and  remarked:  "  Gaze  on,  my  children,  and 
gaze  long  at  this  wondrous  spectacle,  for  it  is 
the  last  time  any  of  you  will  ever  view  it  at  my 
expense. ' ' 

In  a  review  of  the  operatic  season  of  1902- 
1903,  which  was  the  last  season  of  Mr.  Grau, 
Mr.  Joseph  Sohn  declared  that  we  were  in  a 
stage  of  transition,  and  that,  as  regards  the  in- 
terpretation of  operatic  roles,  the  scope  of  the 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       17 

performer  had  been  enlarged  at  the  expense 
of  the  standard  of  quality.  "  Localization  and 
concentration  of  effort  no  longer  exist,  the  per- 
former being  expected  to  master  every  style 
and  mode  evolved  during  a  century  far  more 
prolific  of  musical  achievement  and  develop- 
ment than  any  of  its  predecessors." 

This  refers  probably  to  the  fact  that  most 
of  the  great  singers  were  expected  to  sing  opera 
in  several  languages,  a  condition  which  has 
been  considerably  modified  during  recent  years, 
when  there  have  been  practically  separate  casts 
for  French,  German  and  Italian  operas.  There 
were  occasions  when  such  an  opera  as  Gounod's 
"  Faust,"  for  instance,  was  given,  and  the 
principals  sang  their  parts  in  different  lan- 
guages, each  choosing  the  language  which 
suited  him  best,  —  an  arrangement  which  was 
doubtless  satisfactory  to  the  singers,  but  hardly 
gratifying  to  the  audience. 

Mr.  Sohn  goes  on  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
it  was  "  the  dramatic  element  —  that  primary 
requisite  which  gives  verity  and  vitality  to  all 
artistic  representation  —  that  does  not  receive 
sufficient  justice  at  the  hands  of  our  artistic 
exponents,  conductors  and  singers  alike." 

Mr.  Sohn  also  advocated  the  employment  of 


18    The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

opera  singers  born  and  trained  in  this  country, 
and  referred  to  the  early  experiences  of 
Madame  Malibran  and  Adelina  Patti,  who 
made  their  first  successes  in  New  York.  He 
also  asked  why  it  was  necessary  for  American 
singers  to  be  obliged  to  go  abroad  and  make  a 
debut  in  Europe,  where  they  are  frequently 
greeted  '  *  with  frantic  applause, ' '  while  there  is 
opportunity  for  them  in  their  native  land. 

The  solution  of  these  questions  has  been 
partly  worked  out  during  the  succeeding  years 
and,  more  thnn  that,  several  American  singers, 
some  of  them  with  little  or  no  European  train- 
ing, have  in  the  past  few  years  made  their 
debuts  in  their  native  land  and  have  won  their 
reputation. 

Some  account  of  these  events  will  be  found  in 
the  succeeding  pages,  but  mention  is  here 
made  of  the  situation  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Grau's 
retirement.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  in  defence 
of  Mr.  Grau,  that  it  was  his  business  to  give  the 
American  public  what  he  believed  it  wanted, 
and  most  certainly,  the  American  public,  or,  at 
least,  that  part  of  it  that  frequented  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House,  was,  in  those  days,  in- 
tolerant of  singers  without  reputation. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    METROPOLITAN    OPERA  -  HOUSE    UNDER    HEIN  - 
RICH    CONRIED 

WHEN  Maurice  Grau  resigned  his  position  of 
managing  director  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  there  was  much  speculation  as  to  who 
would  be  his  successor.  The  history  of  opera 
in  New  York  was  a  story  of  financial  failure. 
As  one  commentator  put  it,  —  opera  had  flour- 
ished on  failure,  but  as  soon  as  one  man  was 
completely  ruined  there  was  always  another 
eager  to  take  his  place.  Thus,  there  were  many 
candidates  to  fill  the  place  of  Maurice  Grau, 
and  possibly  the  fortune  which  he  amassed  by 
grand  opera  may  have  given  impetus  to  the 
competition. 

After  proper  deliberation  the  board  of  di- 
rectors met  and  on  February  13,  1903,  elected 
Heinrich  Conried,  who  was  at  that  time  man- 
ager of  the  Irving  Place  Theatre. 

Conried  was  a  native  of  Bielitz,  in  Austrian 
Silesia,  born  in  1855,  and  he  became  an  actor. 

19 


20    The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

In  1877  he  found  his  way  to  New  York  and 
took  up  the  business  of  theatrical  management. 
At  one  time  he  was  associated  with  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein,  who  later,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter, 
became  his  great  rival  in  the  presentation  of 
grand  opera. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Conried's  expe- 
rience had  been  with  the  theatre,  rather  than 
with  the  opera-house,  there  was  much  specula- 
tion as  to  what  he  would  do  and  how  well  he 
would  do  it.  (Mr.  Conried  promised  great 
productions  and  sweeping  reforms  in  many 
details  of  operatic  management.)  His  views 
on  the  "  star  system  "  were  decided,  and  he 
declared  that  it  would  be  his  aim  to  secure  ex- 
cellence of  ensemble  rather  than  brilliancy  of 
individual  performance.  This  was  a  bold  dec- 
laration after  the  great  "  all  star  "  casts 
which  had  been  provided  by  Grau,  for  an  audi- 
ence which  was  notoriously  difficult  to  attract 
by  anything  but  the  names  of  great  singers. 
Of  his  productions  "  Parsifal  "  was  the  great- 
est undertaking,  but  will  be  described  at  length 
later. 

That  Mr.  Conried's  election  gave  satisfac- 
tion to  the  public  may  be  judged  by  the  press 
comments  of  the  period.  Perhaps  the  most  con- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       21 

cise  of  these  was  that  published  in  the  "  Out- 
look "  of  February  28,  1903,  which  gives  ex- 
pression to  the  feelings  of  the  public  at  that 
time.  From  it  we  quote  as  follows : 

"  Lovers  of  music  are  deeply  gratified  by 
the  selection  of  Mr.  Heinrich  Conried,  manager 
of  the  Irving  Place  Theatre  in  this  city,  to  suc- 
ceed Mr.  Maurice  Grau  as  manager  of  the  opera 
for  the  next  five  years.  Mr.  Conried  possesses 
the  double  qualifications  necessary  for  a  thor- 
oughly successful  high-class  management  of  the 
opera:  he  is  a  business  man  of  large  experi- 
ence, who  has  demonstrated  his  practical  sagac- 
ity by  his  success,  and  he  is  also  a  man  of  artis- 
tic education  and  taste,  who  has  treated  the 
drama  as  literature  and  not  simply  as  a  means 
of  making  money.  The  performances  given 
under  his  direction  at  the  Irving  Place  Theatre 
have  been  conspicuous,  not  only  because  actors 
of  first-class  ability  have  appeared  in  them,  but 
because  all  the  details  have  been  supervised 
with  the  utmost  care,  and  everything  possible 
has  been  done  to  give  the  plays  artistic  har- 
mony and  completeness.  This  is  precisely  what 
the  opera  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  has 
lacked.  New  York  has  had  at  times  the  most 
brilliant  singing  to  be  found  in  any  city  in  the 


22     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

world.  It  has  had,  not  only  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude,  but  constellations  —  groups  of  ar- 
tists of  the  highest  rank ;  but  the  details  of  the 
opera  have  been  sadly  overlooked  and  under- 
valued, and  the  performance  has  therefore 
lacked,  so  far  as  the  management  is  concerned, 
thorough  artistic  treatment  and  artistic  feeling. 
It  is  precisely  these  qualities  that  Mr.  Conried 
will  undoubtedly  introduce  into  his  manage- 
ment. He  has  had  very  large  experience  in 
studying  the  resources  of  the  drama  abroad 
and  in  negotiating  with  foreign  artists,  and  this 
experience  will  serve  him  in  good  stead  when  he 
transfers  his  work  from  the  dramatic  to  the 
operatic  stage.  The  public  may  confidently 
look,  not  only  for  the  appearance  of  great 
singers  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  but 
for  careful  and  artistic  stage  management ;  for 
the  treatment  of  the  opera  as  one  of  the  great 
arts,  and  not  simply  as  an  instrument  of  pleas- 
ure or  a  means  of  making  money.  Mr.  Grau, 
who  is  a  man  of  great  energy  and  persistence, 
has  laid  a  strong  financial  foundation  on  which 
Mr.  Conried  will  be  able  to  build  up  an  artistic 
success." 

The  company  of  singers  for  the  season  of 
1903-1904  included  many  of  the  old  favorites. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       23 

The  sopranos  were  Marcella  Sembrich,  Emma 
Calve,  Milka  Ternina,  Madame  Gadski,  Aino 
Ackte,  Camille  Seygard,  Fanchon  Thompson, 
and  Lillian  Heidelbach.  The  altos  —  Louise 
Homer,  Edythe  Walker,  Josephine  Jacoby,  and 
Marcia  van  Dresser.  The  tenors  —  Enrico 
Caruso,  Ernst  Krauss,  F.  Naval,  Andreas  Dip- 
pel,  Aloys  Burgstaller,  Jacques  Bars,  and 
Guardabassi.  The  basses  —  Pol  Plan§on,  Rob- 
ert Blass,  and  Eossi. 

As  a  rule,  the  new  singers  did  not  please  the 
public,  who  not  only  preferred  the  favorites  of 
established  reputation,  but  had  been  made  to 
believe  that  the  supply  of  great  singers  in  Eu- 
rope was  exhausted,  —  a  theory  which  would 
seem  at  least  to  lift  a  burden  from  the  shoulders 
of  the  manager,  and  which  was  exploded  when, 
a  few  years  later,  Oscar  Hammerstein  entered 
the  operatic  field,  and  found  admirable  singers 
in  spite  of  the  sad  European  conditions. 

Of  the  sopranos  Marcella  Sembrich  was  then 
at  the  height  of  her  popularity,  and  she  contin- 
ued to  be  a  prominent  figure  in  opera  for  sev- 
eral years.  At  the  end  of  her  operatic  career 
she  was  still  able  to  draw  large  houses  as  a 
concert  singer,  for  her  art  was  undeniable  even 
when  her  voice  was  no  longer  at  its  best. 


24     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Emma  Calve  soon  retired  and  married,  but 
in  1912  she  returned  to  America  and  appeared 
in  "  Carmen."  Being  middle-aged  and  portly, 
she  was  no  longer  the  fascinating  Carmen  of 
the  '90  's,  though  her  art  had  not  deserted  her. 

Milka  Ternina  retired  from  the  operatic  stage 
with  her  powers  undiminished,  while  Madame 
Gadski  still  sings  occasionally. 

Of  the  contraltos  all  were  known  before  the 
time  of  Mr.  Conried's  management,  Madame 
Homer  has  pursued  a  continuously  successful 
career,  and  at  the  present  time  is  one  of  the 
most  popular  contraltos  before  the  public. 

Edythe  Walker,  a  native  of  New  York,  had 
been  considered  one  of  the  most  successful 
American  contraltos  in  Europe,  and  was  sing- 
ing at  the  Imperial  Opera-House  in  Vienna  be- 
fore being  engaged  for  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House.  She  had  been  a  pupil  of  Orgeni  in 
Dresden,  and  had  filled  engagements  in  Prague 
and  other  Austrian  cities  before  going  to 
Vienna.  Her  chief  roles,  besides  the  Meyer- 
beer repertoire,  were  Wagnerian,  and  she  had 
met  with  success  in  Berlin  as  Isolde  and  Briinn- 
hilde  at  the  Royal  Opera. 

In  1903  she  came  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  and  on  her  debut  in  "  Aida  "  she  was 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       25 

reported  as  "  the  possessor  of  a  voice  of  lovely 
quality,  though  not  of  great  volume.  There  is 
a  decided  charm  in  her  singing,  the  most  marked 
grace  of  which  is  the  perfect  evenness  of  its 
quality  up  to  the  point  where  the  pitch  puts  a 
strain  on  her.  Her  voice  is  also  a  capital  ve- 
hicle for  feeling.  Her  performance  of  the 
scene  with  the  priest  in  the  last  act  was  prob- 
ably the  finest  that  patrons  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  can  recall,  and  was  only  equalled 
in  the  evening's  representation  by  Gadski's 
superb  singing  of  the  Nile  scene." 

During  later  years  Miss  Walker  has  pursued 
a  most  successful  career  in  Europe,  where  she 
is  known  as  a  Wagnerian  singer.  In  London 
she  created  the  part  of  Elektra  in  Strauss 's 
opera  of  that  name  on  its  production  in  that 
city. 

Of  the  sopranos  who  were  new,  the  most  im- 
portant of  foreign  birth  was  Aino  Ackte,  a 
Finn,  from  Helsingfors,  who  had  begun  her 
vocal  studies  with  her  mother.  She  had  also 
studied  art,  but  eventually  found  her  voice  more 
promising.  When  she  applied  for  admission 
to  the  Conservatoire  at  Paris  she  was  the  first 
selected  from  a  hundred  and  ninety- seven  ap- 
plicants. In  1894  she  took  first  grand  prize 


26     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  was  at  once  given  a  debut  at  the  Grand 
Opera  as  Marguerite  in  "  Faust."  After  sev- 
eral years  in  Paris  she  made,  in  1902,  a  tour  of 
Germany.  Madame  Ackte  is  a  lyric  soprano 
and  is  known  in  private  life  as  Madame  Ren- 
vail,  being  the  wife  of  a  professor  of  law  at 
Helsingfors. 

Marion  Weed,  who  also  appeared  at  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera-House,  was  a  New  York  girl 
who  had  been  a  pupil  of  Lilli  Lehmann,  and  had 
her  first  opportunity  at  Bayreuth,  after  which 
she  was  employed  at  the  Stadt  Theatre  in  Ham- 
burg until  she  was  called  to  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House. 

Marcia  van  Dresser,  who  joined  the  Metro- 
politan forces  in  1903,  began  her  career  in  light 
opera,  as  a  member  of  the  Bostonians.  Leav- 
ing this  company  she  took  up  dramatic  work 
and  appeared  with  Augustin  Daly,  Viola  Allen 
and  Otis  Skinner.  At  the  time  when  her  dra- 
matic career  seemed  to  be  most  promising  she 
abandoned  it  and  went  abroad  to  study  for 
opera,  eventually  securing  an  engagement  in 
Dessau. 

Robert  Blass  is  an  American,  who  began  his 
operatic  career  in  Germany.  His  name  was,  or 
is,  Lloyd  D'Aubigny,  and  he  was  more  famil- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       27 

iarly  known  as  Tom  Dabney.  He  .was  intended 
for  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  prepared  at 
Columbia  University.  But  finding  that  he  was 
more  interested  in  the  stage,  he  sought  a  theat- 
rical engagement  and  was  employed  by  Augus- 
tin  Daly  to  sing  in  his  Shakespearian  revivals. 
From  that  he  worked  into  opera  and  has  been 
for  several  years  a  valuable  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company. 

Ernst  Krauss  was  not  a  new  comer,  for  he 
had  sung  for  two  seasons  when  Damrosch  was 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  He  was  now 
engaged  by  Conried  while  singing  at  the  Impe- 
rial Opera  in  Berlin,  where  he  was  much  appre- 
ciated. He  was  given  leave  of  absence  to  en- 
able him  to  come  to  America. 

Naval  was  a  young  Roumanian,  who  had 
studied  for  the  stage  in  Germany,  and  began 
his  operatic  career  at  the  Stadt  Opera-House 
in  Frankfort.  He  was  called  thence  to  Vienna, 
where  he  appeared  in  the  first  production  of 
"  La  Boheme  "  at  the  Theatre  am  der  Wien. 
Being  successful  here  he  was  engaged  at  the 
Imperial  Opera-House,  where  he  remained  until, 
in  1902,  he  had  a  disagreement  with  Gustav 
Mahler,  at  that  time  conductor.  Naval  was  de- 
scribed as  being  handsome,  blonde,  unmarried, 


28     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and,  in  short,  the  ideal  k '  matinee  girl 's  ' : 
tenor. 

Guardabassi  was  a  young  Italian  who  had 
been  some  time  in  America,  and  having  ap- 
peared with  good  success  in  concerts  was  taken 
on  by  Mr.  Conried. 

Rossi  had  sung  with  Madame  Sembrich  in 
Vienna  in  1898,  and  during  his  American  career 
had  great  success  in  supporting  her  in  buffo 
roles  in  "  Don  Pasquali  "  and  such  works.  Pre- 
vious to  his  arrival  in  America  he  had  been  for 
several  seasons  at  La  Scala,  Milan.  He  be- 
came a  very  popular  singer  in  this  country. 
Rossi  was  born  in  Rome  in  1869.  When  he  was 
a  young  man  his  voice  promised  to  be  a  tenor, 
but  he  fell  into  the  river  and  had  an  attack  of 
pleurisy  after  which  his  voice  settled  into  bass. 
He  made  his  debut  at  Parma  in  1891,  and  toured 
South  America  with  Patti. 

Of  all  the  singers  engaged  by  Conried  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  no  one  ever  became 
so  great  a  celebrity  as  Enrico  Caruso.  As  an 
actor  and  as  a  singer  his  art  was  inferior  to 
that  of  several  of  his  rivals,  but  his  voice  was 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  organs  ever  be- 
stowed upon  man.  His  popularity  became  so 
great  that  in  April,  1906,  a  writer  in  the 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

ENRICO   CARUSO 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       29 

"  Forum  ';1  described  the  situation  as  being 
comparable  with  the  old  game  of  "  What  are 
you  going  to  give  the  old  bachelor  to  keep  house 
with?  "  in  which  the  answer  had  to  be  invari- 
ably the  same.  Thus,  — ' '  What  were  the  prin- 
cipal operas  performed  at  the  Metropolitan? 
Caruso.  Who  sang  the  chief  roles?  Caruso. 
Why  was  German  opera  given  so  late?  Ca- 
ruso." One  might  add  to  that  another  ques- 
tion, "  What  is  Italian  Opera?  Caruso." 

No  singer  in  the  history  of  opera  in  America 
has  been  such  a  bonanza  to  newspaper  writers, 
for  every  doing  of  Caruso  has  been  reported 
and  enlarged  upon.  We  have  waded  through 
several  bushels  of  newspaper  clippings  bearing 
upon  Caruso  and  his  career  and  there  are  very 
few  of  them  that  seem  worth  repeating.  One 
clipping  is  amusing  and  comes  from  Berlin, 
where,  after  the  great  singer  had  expressed 
surprise  at  the  fame  which  his  voice  had  given 
him,  he  is  said  to  have  stated  that  he  had  re- 
cently been  told  that  one  of  his  ancestors  was 
the  Emperor  Cams,  who  during  the  year  282, 
swept  Persia  like  a  devastating  plague  until 
finally  he  met  with  a  frightful  death  by  light- 
ning. As  Caruso,  himself,  had  narrowly  es- 
caped death  in  the  San  Francisco  earthquake 


30     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

a  short  time  before,  he  declared  that  he  should 
doubtless  be  convinced  of  his  resemblance  to 
his  illustrious  progenitor  as  soon  as  he  could 
examine  the  picture  of  the  emperor  on  the  an- 
tique coins  of  the  time,  and  compare  it  with  his 
own  features.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing 
that  Caruso's  sense  of  humor  is  one  of  his  chief 
characteristics,  and  he  is  very  clever  at  draw- 
ing sketches  of  the  people  with  whom  he  is  as- 
sociated. 

Enrico  Caruso  was  born  at  Naples  in  1873. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  mechanic  who  actually  dis- 
liked music,  so  that  when  the  boy's  musical 
talent  began  to  manifest  itself  the  father  would 
give  no  aid  towards  its  development.  Notwith- 
standing this  Enrico  began  to  sing  in  the 
churches  of  his  native  city  when  he  was  about 
eleven  years  of  age.  There  was  more  or  less 
friction  on  account  of  music,  between  the  father 
and  son,  until  the  death  of  the  mother  which 
occurred  when  the  boy  was  about  fifteen  years 
of  age.  It  had  been  owing  to  the  mother's  en- 
couragement that  he  had  progressed  in  music 
as  far  as  church  singing.  She  had  always  ad- 
mired his  musical  talent  and  had  called  him  the 
treasure  of  the  family. 

Young   Caruso    now   got   employment   in   a 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       31 

chemical  factory  which  was  owned  by  a  Bel- 
gian, and  he  worked  there  until  the  owner  re- 
turned to  his  native  land.  By  this  time  Enrico 
was  eighteen.  He  happened  to  meet  one 
Edouard  Missiano,  a  baritone  singer,  who  took 
much  interest  in  his  voice,  and  who  reproached 
him  for  singing  without  having  taken  lessons, 
to  which  Caruso  replied  that  he  had  no  funds. 

Missiano  told  him  not  to  worry  on  that  ac- 
count, he  would  take  him  to  his  own  teacher 
who  would  give  him  lessons  for  nothing  if  he 
(Missiano)  asked  him,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
paying  pupils. 

Accordingly  Missiano  took  Caruso  to  his 
teacher,  Guglielmo  Vergine,  who  gave  his  voice 
a  trial,  but  was  at  first  unable  to  express  any 
very  encouraging  opinion.  Missiano,  however, 
declared  that  the  young  man  had  been  singing 
all  day  and  was  nervous  and  tired.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  making  another  appointment,  the  re- 
sult of  which  was  that  the  teacher  undertook 
to  give  Caruso  lessons  for  three  years,  and  that 
when  ready  for  a  professional  career  he  should 
pay  Vergine  twenty-five  per  cent  of  his  earn- 
ings during  the  following  five  years. 

Caruso  began  his  lessons,  but  there  was  more 
or  less  friction  between  him  and  his  teacher 


32     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

because  of  the  contract  which  he  had  made.  He 
was  obliged  to  take  engagements  in  order  to 
provide  himself  with  the  means  of  subsistence, 
while  his  teacher  wished  him  to  do  no  profes- 
sional work  until  he  was  properly  prepared. 

This  state  of  affairs  was  temporarily  ended 
by  Caruso's  being  called  upon  to  serve  in  the 
army,  a  service  which  is  customary  for  every 
able  man  in  many  of  the  European  countries. 
Caruso's  own  story  of  his  life  in  the  army  was 
published  some  years  ago,  and  the  following 
anecdote,  quoted  from  this  story,  will  be  found 
amusing : 

"  In  Italy  every  man  has  to  serve  his  time 
in  the  army,  but,  happily  for  me,  my  military 
duties  were  short  lived,  for  I  drew  the  attention 
of  the  commander  of  the  regiment.  He  had 
heard  me  sing  in  the  barracks  where  I  prac- 
tised in  my  leisure. 

"  The  major  questioned  me  closely  one  day 
and,  having  great  regard  for  my  voice,  made 
my  duties  for  the  period  of  active  service  very 
light.  He  also  advised  me  as  to  how  I  might  be 
entirely  exempted  from  active  service  if  I  had 
friends  of  influence  to  take  up  my  cause. 

"  So  I  started  to  unroll  the  red  tape  that 
should  free  me,  singing  all  the  while  in  the  bar- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       33 

racks,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  soldiers  and 
officers.  My  position  became  such  that  in  a 
short  time,  when  a  popular  soldier  was  impris- 
oned for  some  slight  offence,  I  could  obtain  his 
freedom  by  volunteering  to  sing  any  song  the 
officer  on  duty  would  care  to  hear. 

"  I  well  remember  one  lovely  Easter  day 
when  the  officers  gave  a  lunch  to  the  soldiers  of 
the  regiment.  At  one  end  of  the  table  sat  the 
commander,  Major  Nagliate,  at  the  other  end, 
facing  him,  sat  Caruso. 

"  After  the  luncheon  it  was  proposed  and 
universally  seconded,  that  I  should  sing  the 
Wine  Song  of  *  Cavalleria  Rusticana  '  in  honor 
of  the  major.  My  song  was  greeted  with  most 
enthusiastic  applause  and  cries  of  l  encore.' 

"  The  major  silenced  every  one  by  raising 
his  hand,  and  then  rose  to  make  a  speech. 
What  was  our  surprise  and  chagrin  when  he 
delivered  a  very  sharp  lecture  directed  against 
the  regiment  in  general  and  myself  in  particu- 
lar, saying  that  it  was  unpardonable  to  compel 
me  to  sing  at  each  beck  and  whim,  and  criminal 
to  request  it  after  a  meal,  and  that  I  was  a  fool 
and  didn't  deserve  the  gift  I  held  so  lightly, 
and  that  if,  in  the  future,  there  was  a  repetition 
he  would  not  only  put  in  irons  the  person,  re- 


34     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

gardless  of  rank,  who  compelled  me  to  sing,  but 
he  would  punish  me  too." 

During  the  time  that  Caruso  was  in  the  army 
his  father  married  a  second  wife,  and  she  was 
able  to  understand  that  a  great  career  was  pos- 
sible for  her  step-son,  so  she  tried  to  induce  the 
father  to  free  him  from  military  service.  Ca- 
ruso's brother,  however,  volunteered  to  serve 
in  his  place,  and  was  accepted.  Thus  after  a 
year  and  a  half  of  military  service  lessons  were 
resumed  with  Vergine,  and  six  months  later, 
in  1894,  the  new  tenor  made  his  debut  at  the 
Nuovo  Theatre,  Naples,  in  a  new  opera  entitled 
"  L'Amico  Francesco." 

Then  followed  the  usual  round  of  scattered 
engagements.  He  was  at  Caserto  for  a  time, 
then  at  Cairo,  and,  returning  to  Italy,  he  went 
to  the  Fondo  Theatre  at  Naples.  Then  he 
toured  Italy  and  Sicily  and  finally  reached 
Milan,  where  the  important  part  of  his  career 
really  began,  for  he  had  now  gained  stage  ex- 
perience. 

He  appeared  at  La  Scala,  and  remained  there 
four  seasons.  He  also  sang  at  St.  Petersburg, 
Moscow  and  Warsaw  two  seasons,  three  at 
Rome,  three  in  London,  and  he  appeared  at 
most  of  the  important  cities  of  Germany  before 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       35 

he  made  his  first  appearance  in  America,  which 
took  place  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House, 
New  York,  on  November  23, 1903. 

It  is  recorded  that  Maurice  Grau  at  one  time 
entered  into  negotiations  with  Caruso  and  could 
have  engaged  him  at  a  salary  of  $700  per 
month,  with  the  privilege  of  extending  the  en- 
gagement for  two  years  at  a  slight  advance  in 
case  the  first  season  proved  successful.  But 
Caruso  was  then  scarcely  known,  and  the  ex- 
periment of  bringing  to  America  singers  with- 
out any  reputation  was  so  great  a  risk,  —  much 
greater  then  than  now,  —  that  the  opportunity 
was  allowed  to  pass. 

In  1902  Mr.  Grau  went  abroad  again  to  en- 
gage singers  and  once  more  made  overtures  to 
Caruso,  but  this  time  the  singer  had  his  plans 
already  completed.  Mr.  Grau  nevertheless 
succeeded  in  making  a  contract  with  him  for 
the  following  season,  by  which  he  was  to  make 
forty  appearances  at  a  salary  of  $1000  a  night, 
and  the  right  was  conceded  to  extend  the  con- 
tract for  two  more  seasons  at  $1200  and  $1400 
per  night  respectively,  dependent  upon  the  suc- 
cess of  the  first  season.  Mr.  Conried  followed 
Grau  at  the  Opera-House  and  Caruso  made  his 
debut  in  New  York  during  that  season,  as  al- 


36     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ready  stated.  But  there  are  somewhat  con- 
flicting stories  as  to  the  particulars  of  this  first 
contract.  Conried  is  said  to  have  declared  the 
Gran  contract  void,  and  to  have  succeeded  in 
engaging  Caruso  on  more  satisfactory  terms. 

The  following  story  concerning  the  capture 
of  Caruso  by  Conried,  has  been  pronounced 
absurd  by  one  of  the  leading  critics  of  New 
York,  and  we  can  take  it  for  granted  that  he 
is  right.  Nevertheless,  it  is  sufficiently  amu- 
sing, even  if  merely  fiction,  to  be  repeated: 

"  Conried  wanted  a  good  Italian  tenor,  and, 
not  knowing  much  about  Italian  tenors,  he 
walked  along  Broadway  until  he  came  to  a  boot- 
black stand  kept  by  an  Italian.  He  asked  the 
proprietor  of  the  stand  who  was  the  greatest 
Italian  tenor.  *  Caruso,'  was  the  reply.  Con- 
ried returned  to  his  office  and  asked  his  as- 
sistants whether  there  was  anything  on  record 
about  an  Italian  tenor  named  Caruso.  In  due 
time  the  contract  made  by  Grau  was  discov- 
ered. Conried  then  went  to  the  Italian  Savings 
Bank  and  asked  one  of  the  officials  who  was  the 
greatest  Italian  tenor  of  the  day.  '  Caruso,' 
was  the  reply  again,  to  which  was  added  the 
information  that  the  secretary  of  the  bank 
was  personally  acquainted  with  him.  A  con- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       37 

versation  was  then  held  with  the  secretary,  who 
was  authorized  to  enter  into  negotiations,  and 
finally  to  cable  an  offer  to  Caruso." 

When  Caruso  first  appeared  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  on  November  23,  1903, 
the  critics  did  not  at  once  go  into  ecstasies  over 
him.  The  Tribune  wrote  as  follows,  concerning 
his  performance:  "  Signor  Caruso  has  many  of 
the  tiresome  Italian  vocal  affectations,  and 
when  he  neglects  to  cover  his  tones,  as  he  al- 
ways does  when  he  becomes  strenuous,  his 
voice  becomes  pallid.  But  he  is  generally  a 
manly  singer,  with  a  voice  that  is  true,  of  fine 
quality,  and  marvellous  endurance.  He  had  a 
gratifying  reception  at  the  end  of  the  first  act, 
though  the  chief  honors  went  to  Madame  Sem- 
brich,  and  Scotti." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  week  Caruso 
was  a  victim  to  the  climate,  but  when  he  ap- 
peared in  "  Aida  "  the  Tribune  began  to  com- 
ment favorably,  thus:  "  The  pleasure  which 
his  singing  gives  is  exquisite,  scarcely  leaving 
room  for  curious  questionings  touching  his 
limitations.  He  is  to  be  accepted  for  what  he  is 
with  gratitude,  and  no  one  who  loves  the  art  of 
song  ought  to  miss  the  opportunities  which  his 
presence  at  the  Metropolitan  offers." 


38     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

The  public  flocked  to  hear  Caruso,  and,  in 
a  short  time,  it  became  evident  that  opera,  to 
a  New  Yorker,  meant  Caruso.  His  singing  ap- 
pealed to  the  average  opera  goer  because  of  his 
glorious  voice,  which  he  never  spared.  We 
have  had  several  tenors  who  were  artistically 
better  singers  than  Caruso,  but  never  one  who 
could  take  the  audience  "  off  its  feet  "  as  he 
could.  His  most  successful  parts  were  in 
Italian  operas,  —  as  Rhadames  in  "  Aida," 
Manrico  in  "  H  Trovatore,"  Turiddu  in  "  Ca- 
valleria  Rusticana,"  Johnson  in  "  The  Girl  of 
the  Golden  West,"  and  so  on.  He  sang  many 
parts. 

In  the  course  of  time,  after  a  too  strenuous 
opera  season,  Caruso  had  some  trouble  with  his 
throat,  which  he  overcame  with  a  little  rest  and 
care,  but  from  that  time  the  world  has  fre- 
quently been  needlessly  alarmed  with  rumors 
that  Caruso  will  never  sing  again.  He  has 
found  it  necessary  to  moderate  his  exuberance 
and  use  discretion  in  his  singing,  and  perhaps 
his  voice  is  not  what  it  once  was,  but  he  re- 
mains the  greatest  attraction  amongst  operatic 
tenors  of  the  present  day. 

Caruso  is  noted  for  his  happy  disposition, 
and  somewhat  reckless  ways.  It  was  stated 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       39 

that  his  career  was  nearly  cut  short  after  his 
early  success  in  Naples,  through  his  indulgence 
in  the  luxuries  of  life  with  boon  companions. 
Even  when  the  newspapers  reported  that, 
' '  Caruso  was  not .  up  to  his  standard  last 
night, ' '  he  took  no  notice,  but  his  love  of  pleas- 
ure and  the  self-confidence  of  youth  caused  him 
to  reject  every  suggestion  of  reform.  One  day, 
however,  a  warning  came  to  him  while  he  was 
in  a  thoughtful  mood,  and  brought  a  realization 
of  his  danger.  He  abandoned  his  gay  com- 
panions, and  shortly  afterwards  married  a 
singer  named  Ada  Ciacchetti,  with  whom  he 
had  been  associated  in  opera  at  Treviso  and 
Bologna. 

There  are  many  stories  told  about  Caruso. 
Those  which  amuse  us  are  such  as  illustrate 
the  bright  side  of  his  character.  He  is  like  an 
overgrown  boy,  always  in  good  humor  and  full 
of  pranks. 

One  anecdote  tells  how,  while  Emma  Eames 
was  waiting  her  entry  in  the  wings,  Caruso, 
coming  up  behind,  slapped  her  lightly  on  the 
shoulder  and  dodged  behind  a  piece  of  scenery 
near  by.  Quick  as  a  flash  the  prima  donna 
looked  round,  and  seeing  some  "  supers  "  near 
by,  nearly  froze  them  with  her  glance. 


40     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

In  the  first  act  of  "  Tosca  "  the  stage  is  ar- 
ranged with  Cavaradossi's  easel,  and  his 
brushes.  One  of  the  brushes  is  carelessly  left 
on  the  floor,  to  be  picked  up  during  the  act  by 
the  Sacristan.  Each  time  that  any  one  passed 
that  brush  he  would  be  sure  to  pick  it  up  and 
place  it  on  the  easel.  As  often  as  this  happened 
one  of  the  property  men  would  replace  the 
brush  on  the  stage.  Presently  Caruso  got  a 
hammer  and  nail  and  fastened  the  brush  defi- 
nitely to  the  stage.  All  then  went  well  until  the 
curtain  had  risen  and  the  sacristan  with  his 
feather  duster  began  his  duties.  Coming  to  the 
easel  he,  as  usual,  stooped  down  to  pick  up  the 
brush  and  replace  it,  but  it  would  not  budge, 
and  had  to  remain  where  it  was  nailed,  in  spite 
of  the  sacristan's  efforts. 

The  previous  anecdote  and  several  others 
were  told  by  one  who  had  been  a  "  super  "  ir 
the  opera  company,  and  who  tells  that  Caruso 
is  always  imitating  the  ballet  or  mimicking 
some  soprano  as  she  takes  her  E  in  alt.  He 
tells  how,  one  evening,  when  Caruso  had  been 
pouring  forth  his  adoration  to  Aida  with  the 
utmost  feeling,  he  came  off  the  stage  and,  pick- 
ing up  the  first  ballet  girl  he  met,  waltzed  her 
about  exuberantly.  Sometimes,  after  singing 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       41 

one  of  his  great  arias,  he  would  come  off,  grab 
the  hat  and  cloak  of  some  chorus  man,  and  re- 
entering,  sing  as  lustily  as  any  of  them.  Al- 
most everything  that  Caruso  does  or  has  done, 
has  been  fully  described  in  print,  even  to  his 
11  oiling  up  "  with  the  atomizer  before  going 
on  the  stage. 

There  is  another  anecdote  of  Caruso.  It  re- 
lates to  his  early  friend  Missiano,  who  set  him 
on  the  road  to  fame  by  taking  him  to  Vergine, 
the  singing  master.  Edouard  Missiano,  when 
Caruso  first  knew  him,  was  well-to-do.  He  was 
the  son  of  wealthy  parents,  but,  in  the  course 
of  events,  financial  reverses  came,  and,  eventu- 
ally, when  Caruso  returned  to  Italy,  a  few  years 
ago,  he  discovered  Missiano  broken  in  spirits 
and  health,  and  a  poor  man.  Caruso  told  Mr. 
Gatti-Casazza  about  his  friend  and  succeeded 
in  securing  an  engagement  for  him  at  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera-House,  where  he  sang  minor 
parts  in  many  of  the  operas.  In  the  "  Girl  of 
the  Golden  West  "  Missiano  was  Joe  Castro, 
and  he  was  assigned  a  small  part  in  "  La  Gio- 
conda,"  which  was  in  rehearsal  when  Missiano 
was  taken  ill  and  died  suddenly.  Missiano  left 
a  wife  and  three  children  in  Naples,  and  Caruso 
is  said  to  have  sent  the  body  of  his  friend  to 


42     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Naples  for  burial,  and  cabled  to  the  widow  the 
amount  of  his  own  earnings  for  the  perform- 
ance of  "  La  Gioconda  "  in  which  Missiano  was 
to  have  appeared. 

During  recent  years  the  troubles  which  Ca- 
ruso has  had,  from  time  to  time,  with  his  throat, 
have  taught  him  greater  discretion  in  his  sing- 
ing, and  he  has  gained  in  artistic  skill,  though 
perhaps  he  has  lost  something  in  the  matter  of 
fervor,  for  of  all  singers,  at  least  within  the 
memory  of  the  average  opera  goer  of  to-day, 
no  one  has  given  his  voice  more  unsparingly 
than  Caruso. 

There  have  been  tenor  "  crazes  "  from  time 
to  time,  —  in  America  we  have  admired  Brig- 
noli,  Campanini,  Ravelli  (a  short-lived  ad- 
miration), Tamagno,  and  Jean  de  Reszke,  but, 
as  far  as  memory  serves,  there  has  been  noth- 
ing quite  equal  to  the  Caruso  craze. 

Olive  Fremstadt  was  born  in  Norway,  and 
was  brought  to  this  country  while  still  quite  a 
young  girl.  It  is  said  that  her  musical  talent 
was  such  that  she  appeared  as  a  concert  pianist 
in  her  native  land  at  the  age  of  five. 

On  arrival  in  America  she  went  to  Minneapo- 
lis, where  she  grew  up  and  lived,  teaching  music 
in  that  city  and  in  Duluth.  After  some  years 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       43 

of  hard  and  bitter  struggle  she  went  to  Chicago, 
where  the  struggle  was  equally  hard,  but  the 
field  for  endeavor  was  broader.  She  played 
accompaniments,  besides  teaching  the  piano. 
Presently  she  went  on  to  New  York  and  re- 
newed the  fight  for  her  place  in  the  musical 
profession.  Here,  again,  she  gave  lessons,  and 
she  played  accompaniments  for  vocal  teachers 
in  their  studios.  She  held  a  church  position, 
and,  while  she  spent  her  days  in  work,  she 
spent  her  evenings  in  study.  She  also  made 
several  concert  tours,  but  none  of  these  things 
satisfied  her  ambitions,  which  were  far  above 
both  the  church  and  concert  platform. 

Eventually  she  went  abroad,  though  not  until 
after  she  had  appeared  in  concert  in  New  York 
under  Anton  Seidl,  on  which  occasion  she  dis- 
closed a  beautiful  mezzo-soprano  voice.  She 
decided  to  go  to  Germany,  and  was  fortunate 
enough  to  be  one  of  a  group  of  young  Ameri- 
can singers  to  be  accepted  by  Lilli  Lehmann. 
Under  her  guidance  the  young  singer  worked 
harder  than  ever  and  made  a  concert  debut  at 
the  Philharmonic  in  Berlin.  Later  on,  through 
Lilli  Lehmann,  she  obtained  a  hearing  at  Bay- 
reuth,  and  was  so  successful  that  she  was  en- 
gaged for  the  opera  at  Cologne. 


44     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Her  operatic  debut  was  made  in  Vienna, 
where  she  sang  the  role  of  Brangaene  to  Leh- 
mann's  Isolde. 

Miss  Fremstadt  was  a  favorite  of  Madame 
Wagner,  under  whom  she  studied  Wagnerian 
roles,  and  her  greatest  successes  have  been  in 
those  parts.  She  appeared  in  "  Rheingold,"  in 
"  Gotterdammerung, "  and  as  one  of  the  flower 
girls  in  * '  Parsifal. ' '  During  her  life  in  Berlin 
she  sang  often  at  von  Moltke's  drawing-room, 
and  at  the  houses  of  various  exclusive  music- 
lovers,  and  her  own  concert  in  Berlin  was  one 
of  the  greatest  successes  of  her  life. 

After  her  appearances  in  Bayreuth  and  her 
engagement  for  the  opera  at  Cologne,  she  re- 
mained in  the  latter  city  for  some  years,  sing- 
ing many  roles  in  the  lighter  operas,  and  taking 
also  the  parts  of  Waltraute  and  Carmen,  in 
which  latter  she  is  said  to  have  created  a  furore 
which,  in  Germany,  rivalled  Calve 's.  She  now 
received  offers  from  various  opera-houses,  but 
was  finally  captured  by  von  Possart,  for  the 
Royal  Opera-House  at  Munich.  Here  she 
played  Brangaene,  Fides,  Carmen,  Haensel 
and  other  contralto  roles.  After  her  farewell 
performance  of  "  Carmen  "  it  is  related  that 
the  students  unharnessed  the  horses  from  her 


The  Metropolitan  CJpera-House       45 

carriage  and,  hanging  it  with  laurel  wreaths, 
drew  her  through  the  streets.  This  is  the  time- 
honored  manner  in  which  students  in  Europe 
show  their  admiration  for  opera  singers. 

She  now  sang  in  London,  and  was  then  en- 
gaged for  America,  where  she  has  continually 
added  to  her  artistic  triumphs.  Miss  Frem- 
stadt  was  married  in  Salt  Lake  City,  during  a 
trip  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company  in 
1906,  and  is  known  in  private  life  as  Mrs.  Sut- 
phen. 

It  seems  to  be  customary  for  reporters  to  ask 
successful  singers  if  they  have  any  special  ad- 
vice to  give  to  young  singers.  To  this  question 
Miss  Fremstadt  replied,  "  No  one's  advice 
means  very  much  along  a  road  where  every 
inch  must  be  worked  out  differently  by  different 
people,  some  of  whom  realize  the  importance 
of  details,  while  others  never  can  be  made  to 
realize  these  things ;  and  if  I  were  to  offer  ad- 
vice, it  would  be  summed  up  in  these  words, 
'  Learn  how  to  study,'  and  this  advice  comes 
from  experience  of  the  fullest  and  most  bitter 
sort."  Most  sound  and  succinct  advice. 

Successful  singers  are  also  frequently  asked 
about  the  comparative  advantages  of  study  in 
America,  and  study  abroad.  This  question 


46     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Miss  Fremstadt  answers  from  a  wealth  of 
experience:  "  I  think  that  the  student  is  at  a 
disadvantage  in  America.  Not  so  much,  per- 
haps, on  account  of  lack  of  instructors,  as  be- 
cause the  incentive  to  study  properly  does  not 
exist  here.  I  do  consider  that  atmosphere  and 
the  surroundings  are  the  most  necessary  ad- 
juncts in  the  making  of  an  artist,  and  without 
them  I  do  not  believe  that  an  artist  can  rise  to 
a  great  height  any  more  than  I  believe  that  I 
could  have  become  a  great  artist  by  remaining 
in  Minnesota,  not  doubting  that  my  love  for  it 
was  as  great  when  I  was  starving  for  it  as 
after  I  was  surfeited ;  but  the  systematic  appli- 
cation of  what  I  heard  as  well  as  the  assimila- 
tion and  absorption  permitted,  or  rather 
brought  about,  a  development  which  could  not 
be  accounted  for  or  obtained  in  any  other  way. ' ' 
She  also  said:  "  Success  does  not  depend 
any  more  upon  instruction  and  natural  equip- 
ments than  it  does  upon  one's  power  of  en- 
durance. To  achieve  the  goal  one  must  be  able 
to  cast  aside  every  tie,  home  and  family,  to 
overcome  every  obstacle,  and  to  face  any  and 
every  hardship  and  remember  nothing  else  but 
study.  Many  have  talent,  but  few  have  the  for- 
titude to  study  and  overcome." 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       47 

It  would  be  possible  to  fill  many  pages  with 
criticisms  extolling  Miss  Fremstadt  as  an  ar- 
tist, for  she  is  considered  one  of  the  greatest 
singers  before  the  public  at  the  present  day. 
Let  one  suffice,  and  this  one  followed  her  ap- 
pearance as  Briinnhilde  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House. 

"  Last  Thursday's  *  Walkure  '  showed 
Madame  Fremstad  as  a  Briinnhilde  whom  no 
other  dramatic  soprano  of  to-day  is  able  to 
surpass  in  fulness  and  richness  of  voice,  dig- 
nity of  singing  style,  plasticity  of  gesture  and 
action,  passionate  sincerity  and  intellectual 
grasp  of  the  personal  as  well  as  the  psycho- 
logical significance  of  the  complex  Briinnhilde 
character.  The  '  Ho  jo  to  ho  '  rang  exultingly 
through  the  rocky  heights,  the  '  Todesverkun- 
digung  '  was  a  deeply  moving  piece  of  vocal 
declamation  in  which  every  word  of  the  text 
was  charged  with  majesty  and  pathos,  and  noth- 
ing so  thoroughly  affecting  has  been  heard  on 
our  opera  stage  for  a  long  time  as  the  Fremstad 
version  of  the  scene  in  which  she  subordinates 
herself  to  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  her 
by  the  helpless  Wotan  —  himself  more  to  blame 
than  Briinnhilde  for  that  person's  lovable 
transgression. 


48     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

"  Whether  singing  to  reflect  poignant  tones 
of  woe  or  the  youthful  and  passionate  inde- 
pendence of  untamed  womanhood,  Madame 
Fremstad  employed  her  voice  always  with  fine 
and  knowing  art  and  showed  that  volume  may 
be  achieved  without  forcing,  and  intensity  sug- 
gested without  forgetting  the  grateful  tenets 
of  bel  canto.  It  was  a  glorious  Briinnhilde  per- 
formance vouchsafed  our  public  by  Madame 
Fremstad,  and  the  thunders  of  applause  that 
compelled  her  to  take  dozens  of  curtain  calls 
must  be  regarded  as  only  a  just  tribute  to  her 
impressive  singing  and  acting  art." 

When  Miss  Fremstadt  made  her  debut  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  1903  the  follow- 
ing report  was  made:  "  Miss  Fremstadt  has 
everything  appertaining  to  voice  and  appear- 
ance in  her  favor,  and  though  a  tendency 
towards  the  Teutonic  stride  and  pose,  which 
Bayreuth  has  encouraged,  militate  against  the 
sweet  naturalness  of  which  the  character  of 
Sieglinde  is  an  index,  she  took  rank  with  most 
of  her  predecessors  in  the  part,  and  New  York 
has  heard  the  best  representatives  imaginable 
in  it." 

At  the  end  of  the  season  of  1903-1904  the 
usual  reviews  were  printed  and  the  manner  in 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

OLIVE   FREMSTADT   AS   ISOLDE 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       49 

which  Mr.  Conried  had  performed  the  duties 
which  he  had  promised  was  held  up  to  public 
view.  One  of  the  best  of  these  reviews  was 
published  in  The  Nation  on  March  17,  1904, 
and  from  this  we  quote,  with  permission,  be- 
cause it  touches  upon  certain  questions,  and 
conditions,  which  existed  at  that  time,  and 
which,  to  some  extent,  exist  at  the  present  day. 

"  In  some  respects  the  New  York  opera  sea- 
son of  1903-1904  will  be  remembered  as  the  most 
interesting  on  record,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  it  should  have  been  marred  by  shortcom- 
ings which  were  the  more  exasperating  because 
they  were  unexpected.  When  Mr.  Conried  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Grau,  he  recognized  the  fact  that 
the  one  thing  most  needed  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  was  provision  for  more  thorough 
rehearsing  of  the  operas  produced;  he  prom- 
ised a  speedy  reform  in  this  respect,  but  it  is 
difficult  to  recall  a  season  in  which  so  many  of 
the  operas  were  apparently  pitchforked  upon 
the  stage  with  no  preparation  at  all.  And 
shortcomings  were  particularly  noticeable  in 
the  scenic  department,  which  we  had  been  told 
was  to  be  specially  improved. 

"  It  is  only  fair  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  was 
largely  owing  to  circumstances  beyond  his  con- 


50     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

trol  that  Mr.  Conried  was  prevented  from 
making  good  some  of  his  promises.  He  cer- 
tainly did  provide  for  most  of  the  Wagner 
operas  and  some  of  the  others  new  scenic  out- 
fits, which  were  a  great  improvement  on  what 
we  have  had  before.  "  Parsifal  "  alone  was 
done  in  a  manner  equalling  and,  in  some  re- 
spects, surpassing  the  Bayreuth  standard,  and 
the  management  reaped  its  financial  reward  in 
receipts  exceeding  $200,000  for  that  opera 
alone.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  no  pre- 
vious operatic  year  at  the  Metropolitan  has 
yielded  so  large  a  profit.  For  this  happy  re- 
sult "  Parsifal  "  was  responsible  in  the  first 
place,  and,  in  the  second  place  —  Donizetti! 
The  joint  appearance  of  two  such  sterling  ar- 
tists as  Mme.  Sembrich  and  Signer  Caruso  led 
to  a  renaissance  of  old-fashioned  Italian  opera 
which  caused  the  Donizetti  works  to  draw 
crowded  audiences  at  every  performance. 

"  In  this  fact  lies  the  chief  lesson  of  the  sea- 
son for  the  manager.  The  recent  Donizetti  casts 
have  never  been  excelled,  perhaps  never 
equalled,  here,  while  the  Wagner  casts  have 
usually  been  far  inferior  to  those  we  have  had 
in  previous  seasons.  New  Yorkers  pay  the 
highest  prices  in  the  world  for  opera  tickets, 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       51 

and  in  return  they  demand,  quite  justly,  that 
they  should  have  the  greatest  singers  in  the 
world.  Mr.  Conried 's  chief  mistake  has  been 
the  failure  to  engage,  at  whatever  price,  cer- 
tain singers  who  are  great  favorites  here  — 
Jean  and  Edouard  de  Reszke,  Lillian  Nordica, 
and  Emma  Eames.  Mr.  Grau  used  to  say  that 
his  highest-priced  singer,  Jean  de  Reszke,  was 
also  the  cheapest.  He  always  filled  the  house. 

4 '  While  Mr.  Conried  had  been  at  one  time  an 
operatic  manager  abroad,  he  was,  when  ap- 
pointed to  his  present  place,  unfamiliar  with 
the  taste  and  demands  of  the  New  York  public. 
He  had  a  vague  idea  that  Europe  was  full  of 
young  and  talented  singers  who  would  be 
promptly  accepted  here  in  place  of  the  great 
stars  he  refused  to  engage.  He  is  absurdly 
mistaken  in  this  matter;  there  are  painfully 
few  good  singers  in  Europe,  and  some  that  are 
admired  there  make  little  impression  here,  as 
Mr.  Conried  has  had  occasion  to  notice  in  the 
case  of  several  of  his  importations. 

"  Mr.  Conried  harbors  antiquated  ideas  re- 
garding "  stars  "  and  "  ensemble."  He  ap- 
parently needs  to  be  told  that  an  ensemble  of 
mediocrities  is  not  desired  or  tolerated  by 
opera-goers  who  pay  $5  for  a  seat.  What  they 


52     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

want  is  an  ensemble  of  stars,  after  the  fashion 
of  Mr.  Grau.  That  is  what  fills  the  house  and, 
notwithstanding  the  expense,  yields  a  good 
profit.  For  the  Italian  operas  alone  have  we 
had,  this  season,  the  best  available  singers. 
Instead  of  engaging  the  singers  his  patrons 
want,  he  is  trying  to  *  *  discipline  ' '  them  —  a 
very  dangerous  process.  It  is  true  that  these 
artists  get  much  less  in  Europe  than  they  do 
at  our  opera-house;  but  they  are  not,  as  Mr. 
Conried  fancies,  dependent  upon  him.  Other 
American  managers  are  shrewd  enough  to 
know  their  value;  hence  we  have  Fritzi  Scheff 
in  an  opera  company  of  her  own,  and  Calve 
and  Schumann-Heink  preparing  to  follow  her 
example;  we  have  Nordica,  Melba,  Bispham, 
in  the  concert  hall,  with  Gadski  and  Campanari 
ready  to  follow  them.  Where  is  this  to  end? 
Operatic  affairs  have  reached  a  crisis,  and  this 
is  the  time  for  the  subscribers  to  make  known 
their  wishes." 

In  regard  to  this  critic's  censure  of  Mr.  Con- 
ried for  failing  to  engage  some  of  the  old  fa- 
vorites, it  may  be  suggested  that  perhaps  Mr. 
Conried  was  aware  that  these  old  favorites 
could  not  keep  on  forever,  and  that,  in  his 
judgment,  their  powers  were  on  the  wane,  and 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       53 

that  he  believed  he  was  serving  the  public  best 
by  not  re-engaging  them. 

This  critic  also  says  that  there  are  painfully 
few  good  singers  in  Europe.  Perhaps  it  would 
be  better  to  say  that  there  were  few  who  were 
so  advertised  as  to  make  the  New  York  public 
familiar  with  their  names.  It  is  an  astound- 
ing fact  that  in  a  city  which  prides  itself  on  its 
musical  judgment,  so  few  singers,  until  the  past 
two  or  three  years,  have  been  able,  or  allowed, 
to  earn  a  reputation  in  New  York,  —  an  Eu- 
ropean reputation  has  been  a  pre-requisite. 
This  condition  was  amusingly  described  by  a 
young  singer  who  had  studied  in  Paris  and  pre- 
pared for  her  debut.  Being  patriotic,  she  de- 
termined to  make  her  debut  in  New  York,  and, 
arriving  from  Paris,  went  at  once  to  a  well- 
know  New  York  agent  and  stated  her  desire. 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  the  agent,  "  what  did 
you  come  here  for?  Take  the  first  steamer 
back  to  Paris.  Give  me  the  name  of  your  hotel. 
Mr.  X.  is  going  over  at  the  end  of  this  week 
to  find  singers.  I  will  give  him  your  address 
and  he  shall  discover  you." 

The  lady  took  the  proffered  advice,  and  was 
discovered. 

The    critic    in    the    Nation    also    complains 


54     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

that  the  singers  who  have  been  popular 
in  opera  are  drifting  into  concert.  "  Where 
is  this  to  end?  "  he  exclaims.  It  will  never 
end.  There  is  a  great  public,  —  a  huge 
public,  —  beyond  the  reach  of  such  opera  com- 
panies as  can  afford  to  employ  the  great 
singers.  This  public  wishes  to  hear  the  great 
singers.  One  who  has  made  a  reputation  in 
opera,  as  Nordica,  Schumann-Heink,  and 
Bispham,  mentioned  in  this  article,  or,  notably, 
Bonci  of  the  present  day,  can  find  better  com- 
pensation, with  less  wear  and  tear,  by  heading 
his  own  concert  company,  than  by  singing  in 
grand  opera.  At  the  time  when  these  singers 
take  to  the  concert  room  they  have  become  al- 
most impossible  for  the  operatic  manager,  on 
account  of  their  financial  demands  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  public  desire  for  new  singers  on 
the  other. 

It  is  said  that  Signor  Bonci  in  one  season  of 
concert  work  made  no  less  a  sum  than  $160,000, 
in  1911  and  1912.  Under  the  circumstances 
why  should  Signor  Bonci  sing  in  opera? 

Bessie  Abott,  one  of  Conried's  stars,  though 
born  at  Ogdensburg,  New  York,  is  a  member 
of  a  prominent  Southern  family.  Misfortune 
overtook  the  family  when  Miss  Abott  was  on 


Copyright  by  Aim*  Dupont 


BESSIE   ABOTT 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       55 

the  threshold  of  young  womanhood,  and  she, 
with  her  sister,  was  obliged  to  make  her  own 
living.  Being  gifted  with  some  musical  talent 
the  two  young  women  sought  and  secured  en- 
gagements in  vaudeville,  and  were  known  as 
"  The  Twin  Sisters,  —  Bessie  and  Jessie." 
They  played  their  own  accompaniments,  Bessie 
on  the  banjo,  and  Jessie  on  the  guitar,  and  they 
sang  ' '  coon  songs, ' '  with  such  success  that  they 
were  "  all  the  rage." 

In  1898  they  secured  an  engagement  at  the 
Empire  Theatre  in  London,  and  sailed  for  that 
city  full  of  hope,  for  the  Empire  is  the  summit 
of  the  ambition  of  the  vaudeville  artist. 

On  board  of  the  same  steamer  among  the 
passengers  was  Jean  de  Reszke,  and  he,  hear- 
ing Bessie  sing  at  the  customary  ship 's  concert, 
was  so  impressed  with  her  voice,  that  when  the 
concert  was  over  he  stepped  forward  and  in- 
troduced himself.  In  London  he  heard  her  sing 
again,  and  then  gave  her  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  Madame  Freda  Ashforth  of  New  York,  and 
advised  her  to  return  and  study  as  soon  as  her 
Empire  Theatre  engagement  was  finished. 
This  she  did,  and  entered  upon  a  long  course  of 
study  under  Madame  Ashforth,  who  then  took 
her  to  Victor  Capoul,  in  Paris. 


56     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

There  she  continued  under  Madame  Ash- 
forth,  and  under  Capoul  and  Fidele  Koenig, 
chef  de  chant  of  the  Paris  Opera. 

Finally  M.  Gailhard,  director  of  the  Opera, 
heard  her  and  she  was  engaged  for  a  three 
years'  contract,  making  her  debut  as  Juliette 
in  "  Romeo  et  Juliette."  Her  premiere  was  a 
triumph  and  she  was  spoken  of  as  the  most 
perfect  Juliette  ever  heard. 

In  April,  1907,  Miss  Abott  left  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  Company  very  abruptly.  She 
was  announced  to  sing  in  Boston,  in  "  Marta," 
but,  at  the  last  moment,  refused  to  go  with  the 
company,  and  Mr.  Conried  was  obliged  to  sub- 
stitute another  singer  for  her.  There  was  some 
comment  in  the  papers,  and  Mr.  Conried  stated 
that  he  had  engaged  Miss  Abott  to  sing  at  a 
weekly  salary  for  five  years.  She  now  asked 
to  be  released,  giving  as  a  reason  that  she  must 
go  to  Europe  to  her  sister,  who  was  in  poor 
health.  Mr.  Conried  consented,  on  condition 
that  she  did  not  sign  a  contract  with  any  other 
manager,  but  he  learned  that  she  was  not  actu- 
ally going  abroad.  He  stated  also  that  she  had 
asked  for  twenty  subscription  performances  in 
New  York  at  $500  each,  and  demanded  that  she 
be  permitted  to  sing  at  least  forty  times  in  the 


Tlie  Metropolitan  Opera-House       57 

next  season.  To  this  Mr.  Conried  would  not 
consent,  and  legal  proceedings  were  begun. 
Miss  Abott,  on  the  advice  of  her  lawyer,  made 
no  statement,  and  the  matter  soon  ceased  to  in- 
terest the  public. 

Madame  Marie  Rappold  is  the  wife  of  a 
physician  of  Brooklyn,  and  a  pupil  of  Oscar 
Saenger.  She  made  a  success  as  a  concert 
singer,  and  in  1905  she  appeared  at  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Schiller  centenary  at  the  Mon- 
tauk  theatre,  when  Heinrich  Conried  was  one 
of  the  performers  in  the  same  program.  Con- 
ried heard  the  voice  and  beheld  the  woman. 

After  Madame  Rappold  sang  her  first  aria 
Mr.  Conried  was  impressed  by  the  great  beauty 
of  her  voice  and  style  of  singing.  When  ques- 
tioned why  she  had  not  called  to  see  him 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  Madame 
Rappold  told  the  manager  she  imagined  he  had 
enough  singers,  but  he  warmly  replied:  "  Not 
enough  like  you;  such  a  voice  as  yours  I  am 
always  glad  to  hear.  You  must  prepare  Elsa 
for  me  for  the  next  season." 

The  following  November  Madame  Rappold 
made  her  debut  not  as  Elsa,  but  as  Sulamith 
in  Goldmark's  "  Queen  of  Sheba." 

Since    her   first    year    at    the    Metropolitan 


58     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Opera-House,  Madame  Eappold  has  remained 
a  member  of  the  company  for  every  season  but 
one,  which  she  spent  in  Europe.  After  filling 
an  engagement  in  the  Royal  Opera  at  Bucha- 
rest, Madame  Eappold  was  decorated  by  the 
King  of  Roumania,  and  when  she  went  to  Paris 
to  fill  an  engagement,  the  manager  of  the  Opera 
in  Bucharest  followed  the  singer  thither,  beg- 
ging her  to  accept  a  prolonged  engagement  in 
the  Roumanian  city.  About  this  time,  too, 
Madame  Rappold  received  enticing  offers  from 
Berlin  and  Vienna,  but  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza,  of 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  re-engaged  her 
for  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  All  of  this 
battle  over  the  securing  of  Madame  Rappold 
took  place  in  Paris  early  in  the  summer  of  1910. 
She  refused  the  European  offers  and  returned 
to  her  own  country. 

In  1910-1911,  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House,  Madame  Rappold  sang  roles  like  Aida, 
Leonora  in  "II  Trovatore,"  Eurydice  in 
"  Orfeo,"  and  other  parts.  The  European 
critics  have  declared  her  to  be  the  ideal  Elsa 
and  Elizabeth.  The  peculiar  timbre  of  her 
voice  lends  itself  to  singing  the  roles  of  both 
the  lyric  and  dramatic  sopranos. 

Rita  Fornia  is  a  native  of  San  Francisco, 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

MARIE    RAPPOLD 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       59 

where  she  was  known  as  Rita  Newman.  Her 
voice  was  discovered  when  she  was  very  young, 
and  when  Adelina  Patti  visited  San  Francisco, 
the  young  girl  was  filled  with  a  desire  to  become 
a  second  Patti.  Her  father,  at  first,  would  not 
hear  of  such  a  thing,  but  at  length  consented  to 
her  going  to  study  in  New  York.  There  she 
met  Emil  Fischer,  who  told  her  that  her  voice 
was  remarkable  and  that  she  must  go  abroad. 
She  telegraphed  to  her  father  so  frequently 
and  urgently  that  at  last  he  sent  money  enough 
to  enable  her  to  go  for  six  months. 

Her  teacher  in  Berlin  said  that  her  voice  was 
a  coloratura  soprano,  and  she  made  her  debut 
in  l  i  La  Juive  ' '  as  Eudoxia  at  Hamburg,  where 
Marian  Weed  and  Carl  Burrian  were  singing 
at  the  same  time.  She  soon  found  that  colora- 
tura roles  were  ruining  her  voice,  so  she  went 
to  Paris  and  began  her  studies  anew,  and  when 
she  appeared  again  she  sang  mezzo-soprano 
parts.  This  was  with  the  Henry  Savage  Com- 
pany in  1906,  when  she  sang  such  parts  as  Or- 
trud,  Amneris,  Sieglinde,  Carmen,  etc.  During 
this  engagement  she  once  sang  both  Venus  and 
Elisabeth  in  the  same  performance  of  "  Tann- 
hauser,"  an  epidemic  of  grip  having  incapaci- 
tated several  of  the  singers. 


60     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Conried  heard  her  when  she  sang  in  the  Mon- 
tauk  Theatre  at  Brooklyn,  and  he  engaged  her 
for  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  Her  great 
opportunity  came  through  the  illness  of  Emma 
Eames.  She  was  called  up  by  telephone  after 
six  o'clock  and  asked  to  sing  Leonora  that 
night.  She  had  studied  the  part  but  had  not 
rehearsed  with  the  orchestra.  Nevertheless, 
she  took  advantage  of  her  opportunity  and  suc- 
ceeded. Later  on  she  had  a  somewhat  similar 
experience  in  Philadelphia,  when  Madame  Sem- 
brich  was  indisposed  and  Miss  Forma  sang 
Rosina  in  "  II  Barbiere  "  at  twenty-four  hours' 
notice. 

Madame  Leffler-Burkhardt  was  born  in  Berlin, 
and  accomplished  most  of  her  vocal  study  with 
a  pupil  of  the  celebrated  Madame  Viardot- 
Garcia,  —  Anna  von  Meisner.  She  began  her 
operatic  career  in  1890  at  Strassburg  as  a  color- 
atura soprano  in  light  roles.  She  then  spent  a 
year  at  Breslau,  and  a  year  at  Cologne.  -From 
1894  to  1898  she  was  at  Bremen,  and  there  be- 
gan to  sing  dramatic  parts,  such  as  Fidelw, 
Isolde,  Donna  Anna,  and  Briinnhilde.  She  ap- 
peared at  Weimar  and  Wiesbaden,  and  in  1906 
sang  Kurt  dry  at  Bayreuth.  She  obtained  leave 
of  absence  from  Berlin,  where  she  was  engaged 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       61 

at  the  time  when  Conried  sought  her  services, 
and  was  thus  able  to  be  heard  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House. 

One  of  the  German  singers  engaged  by  Con- 
ried was  Frida  Langendorff,  who  had  a  voice 
of  great  range,  flexibility  and  power,  together 
with  dramatic  style  and  musical  intelligence. 
Madame  Langendorff  inherited  her  talent  from 
her  mother,  who  was  her  teacher.  Her  first 
professional  engagement  was  at  Strassburg 
opera,  after  which  she  visited  other  German 
cities  and  finally  was  secured  by  Conried.  She 
sang  at  Bayreuth  in  1904,  when  she  was 
coached  for  "  Die  Walkiire  "  by  Madame  Wag- 
ner. She  sang  dramatic  German  parts. 

Heinrich  Knote  was  a  German  tenor,  who 
sang  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  during 
Conried 's  regime,  getting  leave  of  absence  from 
Munich  where  he  was  engaged.  His  Walther  in 
"  Die  Meistersinger  "  was  considered  the  best 
ever  heard  in  New  York  excepting  (the  ac- 
counts here  interject  "  of  course  ")  Jean  de 
Reszke's,  and  his  success  was  instantaneous 
and  emphatic.  After  his  first  few  appearances 
he  proved  to  be  a  drawing  card,  and  filled  the 
house  almost  as  surely  as  did  Caruso.  In  fact, 
Mr.  Conried  was  spoken  of  as  being  a  lucky 


62     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

man  to  have  two  first-class  tenors  at  a  time 
when  foreign  managers  were  tearing  their  hair 
in  despair  because  of  the  impossibility  of  secur- 
ing even  second-rate  tenors.  Mr.  Knote  sang 
in  New  York  during  several  seasons. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  season,  or  rather,  in 
the  middle  of  his  second  season,  the  directors 
of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  did  Mr.  Con- 
ried  the  honor  of  presenting  him  with  a  reso- 
lution asserting  that  at  no  time  in  the  past  had 
operatic  performances  in  New  York  been  given 
of  the  same  uniform  standard  of  merit  as 
during  that  season. 

The  audiences  had  been  unusually  large,  ex- 
cept for  "  Parsifal,"  and  this  might  have  been 
well  attended  but  for  two  things,  —  first,  the 
price  of  seats  was  doubled,  and,  second,  the 
production  by  Henry  M.  Savage  had  discounted 
the  Metropolitan  production.  When  the  season 
opened  the  sale  for  "  Parsifal  "  amounted  to 
$38,000  for  seven  performances.  Many  of  the 
tickets  doubtless  fell  into  the  hands  of  specu- 
lators, for  one  could  buy  on  the  street,  before 
the  first  performance,  good  seats  at  half  price. 
For  the  second  performance  ten-dollar  seats 
could  be  bought  for  two  dollars,  and  for 
the  third  no  speculator  dared  risk  his  repu- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       63 

tation  by  showing  himself  near  the  Opera- 
House. 

It  was  recorded  in  an  account  of  the  season 
that  some  amusement  had  been  caused  by  at- 
tempts to  prove  that  Wagner  was  not  wanted 
by  the  fashionable  patrons  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House.  Some  of  these  society  people 
showed  resentment,  and  tried  to  disprove  the 
charge  by  appearing  earlier  and  staying  later 
at  the  Wagner  performances  than  at  others. 
Monday  evenings,  in  particular,  were  supposed 
to  have  been  kept  free  of  Wagner.  The  refu- 
tation of  this  serious  charge  as  to  Wagner, 
was  undertaken  by  a  class  of  patrons  that  go 
to  the  opera  on  account  of  the  intermissions, 
and  disliked  Wagner  chiefly  because  the  audito- 
rium was  darkened  during  Wagnerian  perform- 
ances, —  so  that  really  Wagner  meant  consid- 
erable self-sacrifice  to  them.  But  the  Monday 
evening  subscribers  desired  also  to  sacrifice 
themselves,  and  began  to  protest  in  the  news- 
papers, so  that  Mr.  Conried  was  obliged  to 
humor  them  by  putting  on  "  Die  Meister- 
singer,"  which  turned  out  to  be  the  success  of 
the  season. 

In  later  seasons  Mr.  Conried  ran  against  dif- 
ficulties. In  January,  1906,  there  were  thrilling 


04     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

accounts  of  a  strike  of  the  chorus  in  New  York. 
Mr.  Conried  refused  to  be  dictated  to  by  the 
labor  union  to  which  the  chorus  belonged,  and 
he  decided  to  do  without  the  chorus.  A  per- 
formance of  "  Faust  "  was  given  in  this  man- 
ner. There  were  a  few  cuts,  and  the  orchestra 
filled  in  as  best  it  could  in  certain  parts,  but  the 
performance  was  not  recorded  as  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  on  record,  —  and  there  was  little 
more  heard  of  the  strike. 

In  1905  Mr.  Conried  took  umbrage  at  the 
poor  attendance  in  Boston  when  the  Metropoli- 
tan Company  visited  that  city,  and  decided  to 
punish  it  the  following  year  by  remaining  away. 
What  he  accomplished  by  this  was  chiefly  to 
ensure  a  welcome  in  Boston  to  Oscar  Hammer- 
stein,  who  soon  after  commenced  his  opera- 
tions, and,  second,  to  fix  a  determination  in  the 
hearts  of  Bostonians  to  have  an  opera  company 
of  their  own,  and  no  longer  be  dependent  for 
their  annual  homoeopathic  dose  of  opera  on 
the  Metropolitan  or  any  other  visiting  com- 
pany. 

When  Heinrich  Conried  was  appointed  di- 
rector of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  he 
made  various  promises  in  regard  to  new  produc- 
tions, but  the  most  important  of  these  was  to 


'The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       65 

be  the  production  of  "  Parsifal,"  Wagner's 
last,  and,  as  many  people  think,  his  most  im- 
portant opera.  By  the  express  wish  of  the 
composer,  and  by  European  copyright,  the 
performances  of  * '  Parsifal  ' '  had  been  confined 
to  Bayreuth  since  1882,  previous  to  which 
date  there  had  been  a  few  representations 
at  Munich  for  the  particular  gratification 
of  Wagner's  friend  and  patron,  King  Lud- 
wig. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  discuss  the  legal 
points  involved  in  Mr.  Conried's  scheme.  There 
was  litigation  in  New  York  courts,  and  the  con- 
troversy was  decided  in  favor  of  Conried, — 
Madame  Wagner  having  endeavored  to  secure 
an  injunction  to  prevent  the  production  of 
"  Parsifal  "  in  this  country.  It  was  generally 
understood  that  "  Parsifal  "  was  the  exclu- 
sive possession  of  Bayreuth  until  1913. 

The  copyright  law  was  effective  in  Europe 
and  held  in  check  everybody  there,  but  not  so 
Conried,  —  and  Henry  M.  Savage,  who  gave 
the  opera  in  English,  and  in  advance  of  Mr. 
Conried,  so  that  when  the  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany visited  the  other  cities,  and  presented 
"  Parsifal  "  at  grand  opera  prices,  those  who 
were  interested  had  already  had  the  opportun- 


66     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ity  to  hear,  and  see,  a  very  good  presentation 
at  prices  about  one  third  of  what  Mr.  Conried 
charged. 

For  years  there  had  been  an  air  of  mystery 
about  "  Parsifal  "  on  which  the  Bayreuth  pro- 
ductions had  thriven.  Good  American  Wag- 
nerites  would  go  to  Bayreuth,  as  others  go  to 
Oberammergau,  or  as  good  Mahommedans 
journey  to  Mecca. 

Lectures  on  "  Parsifal  "  had  been  given, 
more  or  less,  for  several  years,  but  now  the 
number  of  lecturers  began  to  exceed  the  num- 
ber of  audiences,  and  every  lecture  was  like 
every  other  one,  simply  repeating  what  had 
been  already  published  in  magazines  and  news- 
papers innumerable,  so  that  the  public  was 
much  too  thoroughly  prepared  when  the  actual 
production  took  place. 

Not  only  were  there  lectures  on  "  Parsifal," 
but  there  were  discussions  religious,  legal,  eth- 
ical and  aesthetic.  Not  only  were  musicians  in- 
volved, but  clergymen,  lawyers  and  politicians 
discussed  "  Parsifal  "  to  an  extent  that  made 
the  efforts  of  a  mere  press  agent  appear  puny 
and  childish.  The  scruples  of  religious  people 
were  aroused  and  the  opera  was  condemned  as 
sacrilegious,  immoral,  and  irreligious  very  fre- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       67 

quently  by  zealous  individuals  who  knew  next 
to  nothing  about  it.  It  is  probable  that  never 
in  the  history  of  opera  has  such  a  deep  and  ab- 
sorbing interest  been  aroused  in  an  operatic 
premiere. 

Mr.  Conried's  astuteness  was  the  cause  of  all 
this  remarkable  interest,  but  he  was  not  satis- 
fied to  relax  his  efforts  towards  success.  The 
financial  safety  of  the  enterprise  was  assured 
some  weeks  before  the  first  performance,  but 
there  was  before  him  the  task  of  living  up  to 
the  expectations  which  had  been  aroused,  and 
he  made  every  possible  effort  to  ensure  artistic 
success. 

In  order  to  disarm  such  critics  as  made  the 
charge  of  irreverence  against  this  New  York 
production,  Conried  engaged  a  staff  of  artists 
who  had  been  associated  with  the  Bayreuth 
enterprise. 

As  conductor  he  engaged  Felix  Mottl,  one  of 
the  most  noted  German  conductors,  who  had 
repeatedly  superintended  "  Parsifal  "  per- 
formances at  Munich.  Anton  Fuchs,  the  regis- 
seur,  had  charge  of  the  performances  given 
under  the  direction  of  Wagner  himself  for 
King  Ludwig.  Aloys  Burgstaller,  who  sang 
the  title  role,  was  trained  by  Madame  Wagner 


68     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

to  interpret  it  according  to  her  ideals,  as  was 
also  Anton  van  Rooy,  who  took  the  part  of 
Amfortas.  Milka  Ternina,  who  played  Kundry, 
had  won  fame  in  the  same  role  at  Bayreuth. 
Also  Victor  Kloepfer  and  several  other  singers 
came  with  the  endorsement  of  Bayreuth.  Such 
a  company  of  artists,  trained  by  Madame  Wag- 
ner herself,  were  a  sufficient  reply  to  the  charge 
of  irreverence.  Every  detail  as  to  chorus  and 
orchestra  was  rehearsed  unceasingly  until  each 
person  was  perfect  in  his  part,  and  the  same 
careful  preparation  was  enforced  upon  the 
scene  shifters,  mechanics  and  electricians,  so 
that  every  person  employed  was  absolutely  fa- 
miliar with  his  duties. 

To  add  to  the  importance  of  the  occasion, 
"  Parsifal  "  was  given  as  something  outside 
of  the  regular  subscription,  and  special  prices 
were  charged.  On  account  of  the  length  of  the 
opera  the  first  act  began  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  after  the  first  act  there  was  a 
long  intermission  during  which  the  audience 
was  supposed  to  retire  and  dine. 

The  element  left  in  doubt  before  the  first  per- 
formance was  the  "  atmosphere."  Bayreuth 
was  surrounded  with  certain  traditions  and 
conditions  which  were  said  by  many  to  make 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       69 

a  performance  of  "  Parsifal"  elsewhere  prac- 
tically impossible.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 
attitude  of  the  audience  in  New  York,  and  else- 
where, was  one  of  complete  self-surrender,  and 
of  intense  concentration  upon  the  drama  and  its 
music,  and,  according  to  critics  who  had  heard 
the  opera  in  Bayreuth,  nothing  was  lacking 
even  in  the  "  atmosphere  "  necessary  for  a  suc- 
cessful representation. 

In  Wagner's  music  dramas,  and  in  "  Parsi- 
fal "  more  than  any  of  them,  successful  inter- 
pretation depends  upon  the  perfection  of  all  the 
factors  musical,  histrionic,  and  scenic,  in  fact, 
that  was  Wagner's  idea  of  the  music  drama  of 
the  future,  —  an  idea  on  which  all  the  later 
composers  have  planned  their  work. 

In  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  production 
the  scenic  beauty  was  remarkable,  and  com- 
pleted the  essential  elements. 

For  the  work  of  the  artists  we  quote  from 
the  review  written  by  Mr.  Aldrich.  After  prais- 
ing the  excellent  conductorship  of  Mr.  Mottl,  he 
continues:  "Madame  Ternina's  Kundry  is 
perhaps  the  most  consummate  impersonation 
that  this  consummate  artist  has  disclosed.  The 
strange  antithesis  of  which  Wagner  has  com- 
pounded this  part  make  it  one  of  the  most  dif- 


70     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

cult  to  compose  and  present  with  conviction; 
but  she  has  accomplished  it.  ...  Mr.  Burg- 
staller  as  Parsifal  presents  many  alluring 
traits  in  his  representation  of  the  guileless  sim- 
pleton and  the  authority  of  the  knight  return- 
ing to  claim  his  kingship.  There  are  tempera- 
ment and  subtlety  in  his  scenes  with  the  flower 
maidens  and  with  Kundry,  and  his  magnetic 
personality  is  potent  throughout  the  drama. 
Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  his  figure  on  the 
stage  has  a  certain  clumsiness,  and  that  his  act- 
ing is  marred  by  the  exaggerations  and  man- 
nerisms of  pose  and  gesture  commonly  attrib- 
uted to  his  training  at  Bayreuth.  Mr.  Van 
Rooy's  Amfortas  is  a  noble  and  dignified  rep- 
resentation of  mental  and  physical  suffering, 
and  his  laments  are  voiced  with  piercing  ac- 
cents. There  is  praise  due  for  Mr.  Blass's  in- 
telligent and  picturesque  presentation  of  the 
old  Gurnemanz.  The  flower  maidens  are  a 
dream  of  beauty  and  their  beguilement  of  Par- 
sifal is  a  piece  of  choral  ensemble  of  rare  flexi- 
bility and  tonal  charm.  All  work  together 
with  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  Wagner's 
ideals. ' ' 

In  short,  the  production  of  "  Parsifal  "  was 
a  brilliant  artistic  success,  of  which  the  effect 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       71 

was  largely  discounted  by  too  much  ' '  anticipa- 
tion "  and  —  too  high  prices. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  second  season  Hem- 
rich  Conried  was  still  on  the  upward  path  of  his 
operatic  career.  In  reviewing  the  season,  in 
Harper's  Weekly  of  April  15,  1905,  Mr.  Law- 
rence Gilman  speaks  of  him  thus: 

1 1  At  the  end  of  his  second  season  as  director 
of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  Mr.  Heinrich 
Conried  can  point  to  a  notable  record.  Since 
the  spring  of  1903,  when  he  was  selected  for  the 
control  of  the  Metropolitan  as  successor  to 
Maurice  Grau,  he  has  put  America's  most  im- 
portant operatic  institution  on  a  level  with 
those  of  Europe  in  several  respects  in  which  it 
had  hitherto  been  conspicuously  inferior;  he 
has  introduced  to  the  American  public  five  of 
the  most  eminent  of  living  singers ;  he  has  sup- 
plied new  scenery  and  costumes  for  many  of 
the  works  in  the  Metropolitan  repertoire;  and 
he  has  been  the  means  of  removing  from  mon- 
opolistic control  and  making  generally  acces- 
sible one  of  the  world's  supreme  masterpieces 
of  music.  Moreover,  he  has  done  all  this  in  the 
face  of  innumerable  obstacles  and  in  spite  of  a 
lack  of  qualifying  experience;  for  his  career 
had  not  been  of  a  kind  to  make  him  familiar 


72     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  the  problems  of  operatic  management  in 
dealing  with  which  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Grau, 
showed  himself  so  remarkably  competent. 

"  His  claim  to  distinction  is  in  having  main- 
tained his  productions  upon  that  high  level  of 
individual  performance  demanded  by  the  opera- 
loving  public  of  New  York,  at  the  same  time  in- 
sisting upon  an  ideal  —  unemphasized  by  his 
predecessor  —  of  justly  balanced  and  intelli- 
gently organized  ensemble." 

When  Oscar  Hammerstein  announced  in  1906 
that  he  intended  to  open  a  new  opera-house,  it 
was  evident  that  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  management  would  have  to  make  still 
greater  efforts  in  order  to  keep  their  prestige 
with  the  opera-going  public.  A  new  operatic 
war  was  inaugurated,  which,  while  it  may  have 
caused  anxious  moments  to  Mr.  Conried  and  to 
Mr.  Hammerstein,  operated '  immensely  to  the 
advantage  of  the  public,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
history  of  the  next  few  seasons.  The  number 
of  new  productions  and  revivals,  the  array  of 
singers,  the  improvement  in  chorus,  in  orches- 
tras, in  scenery,  and,  in  short,  in  everything 
appertaining  to  grand  opera,  was  very  great. 
In  addition  to  this  the  spread  of  grand  opera 
itself  to  other  cities.  All  these  things  have 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       73 

developed  since  Oscar  Hammerstein  announced 
the  opening  of  the  Manhattan  Opera-House. 

Of  the  singers  brought  to  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  in  the  season  of  1906-1907  the  two 
who  made  the  greatest  sensation  were  Geral- 
dine  Farrar  and  Lina  Cavalieri.  They  were 
briefly  described  in  the  Musician,  from  which 
the  following  is  quoted: 

"  The  two  most  talked  of  sopranos  among 
those  who  joined  the  Metropolitan  forces  this 
past  year  were  Geraldine  Farrar  and  Lina 
Cavalieri.  The  first  named  is  a  young  Ameri- 
can girl  possessed  of  considerable  beauty,  who 
made  a  quite  unprecedented  success  in  Berlin 
and  in  other  German  cities.  She  has  been 
heard  in  French  opera;  as  Elizabeth  in  "  Tann- 
hauser  "  and  as  Madame  Butterfly  in  Puccini's 
opera.  Lina  Cavalieri  is  an  Italian  of  the 
humblest  origin,  whose  beauty  and  conquests 
have  furnished  all  Europe  with  food  for  con- 
versation for  a  number  of  years.  She  has  been 
heard  in  Italian  opera  only.  The  fact  that  she 
made  a  Paris  and  Monte  Carlo  success  did  not 
convince  us  beforehand  of  her  powers,  for  even 
Americans  who  have  remained  at  home  have 
learned  that  singers  can  succeed  in  those  cities 
and  yet  fail  to  meet  the  standard  of  American 


74     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

music  lovers.  The  Cavalieri,  however,  has 
proved  to  possess  some  interesting  qualities. 
Hers  is  a  voice  that  is  most  satisfactorily,  if 
not  definitely,  described  as  Italian.  It  shows 
considerable  lyric  quality  and  often  great 
beauty  of  tone,  which  she  pours  out  with  that 
prodigality  which  is  also  characteristic  of  her 
fellow-countryman,  Caruso,  an  appealing  qual- 
ity if  the  feat  remains  within  the  bounds  of 
good  musical  taste.  It  is  a  voice  unevenly  de- 
veloped, with  the  registers  imperfectly  con- 
nected, and  several  other  evidences  of  a  lack  of 
training.  She  produces  some  worn  and  unat- 
tractive tones,  and  sometimes  fails  of  the  pitch. 
Yet  on  the  whole  Madame  Cavalieri  is  an  inter- 
esting addition  to  the  company.  To  hear  her 
voice  with  Caruso's  in  their  native  opera,  often 
inspires  the  American  opera  lover,  as  well  as 
the  Italian,  to  cry  '  Viva  I' Italia.' 

In  October,  1901,  cable  despatches  from  Ber- 
lin announced  that  another  American  girl  had 
set  all  Europe  talking  because  of  her  beauty 
and  her  musical  talent.  Miss  Geraldine  Farrar 
had  made  her  debut  to  the  musical  world  of 
Europe  in  the  role  of  Marguerite  in  "  Faust  " 
at  the  Royal  Opera-House  in  Berlin.  As  she 
was  not  yet  nineteen  years  of  age  her  appear- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       75 

ance  in  so  difficult  and  prominent  a  role  as  this 
was  regarded  as  phenomenal,  and  she  was 
hailed  by  musicians  as  the  Jenny  Lind  of  Amer- 
ica, and  as  a  second  Patti. 

Geraldine  Farrar  was  born  in  Melrose,  Mass., 
and  lived  in  that  city  until  about  1896,  when  she 
went  abroad  to  study.  Both  her  parents  were 
good  singers.  She  is  said  to  have  been  able 
to  carry  a  tune  with  unerring  accuracy  at  the 
age  of  three.  When  she  was  ten  years  old  she 
took  part  in  an  amateur  production  at  Melrose, 
and  —  her  singing  was  not  liked.  Her  voice 
was  so  loud  and  strong  that  the  others  seemed 
proportionately  insignificant. 

By  and  bye  she  was  placed  as  a  pupil  under 
Madame  Long,  of  Boston,  and  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  her  serious  musical  study.  The 
next  year  her  father  and  mother  took  her  to 
New  York  and  placed  her  under  the  care  of 
Emma  Thursby,  who  soon  said  that  she  could 
teach  her  nothing  more,  —  her  voice  was  al- 
ready placed,  her  throat  formation  was  perfect, 
and  she  had  not  the  difficulties  to  overcome 
that  most  singers  have. 

She  was  one  winter  in  Washington  studying 
technique  and  interpretation  with  Victor  Ca- 
poul,  and  during  this  period  she  sang  at  the 


76     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

White  House  before  President  and  Mrs. 
McKinley. 

It  was  on  her  return  to  Boston  that  she  was 
taken  to  the  Boston  Theatre  and  introduced  to 
Madame  Melba,  who,  on  hearing  her  sing,  said, 
"  I  hail  you  as  the  coming  Jenny  Lind  of  Amer- 
ica." 

Then  the  young  singer  and  her  mother  went 
to  Paris,  and  a  few  months  later,  to  Berlin, 
where  she  remained  and  worked  hard  with  her 
voice,  and  her  dramatic  training.  She  also 
mastered  French,  Italian  and  German. 

It  was  said  that  before  going  abroad  she  re- 
fused several  handsome  offers  to  appear  in 
opera  in  this  country,  and  that  Mr.  Grau  even 
offered  her  an  engagement  at  $8000.  It  was 
also  reported  that  the  salary  at  which  she  was 
engaged  for  three  years  at  the  Berlin  Opera- 
House  was  larger  than  any  that  had  ever  been 
offered  to  so  young  a  singer.  Also  that  she  set 
tradition  at  defiance  by  refusing  to  sing  Mar- 
guerite in  any  language  but  Italian,  whereas 
it  had  been  customary  to  sing  it  in  German  in 
the  Royal  Opera-House.  In  fact,  Miss  Farrar 
seems  to  have  set  other  customs  in  Germany  at 
defiance,  for  one  of  the  rules  of  the  opera-house 
was  that  no  persons  except  performers  should 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       77 

be  allowed  on  the  stage  during  a  performance. 
This  prevented  Mrs.  Farrar  from  accompany- 
ing her  daughter,  and,  as  Miss  Farrar  refused 
to  go  without  her  mother,  an  appeal  was  made 
through  the  American  ambassador  to  the 
Kaiser.  The  rule  was  set  aside  in  her  case, 
and  she  was  always  attended  by  her  mother. 

This  is  said  to  have  set  the  press  against  her, 
and  in  course  of  time  the  attentions  of  the 
Crown  Prince  to  her  gave  opportunity  to  one 
of  the  papers  to  publish  a  libellous  article  on 
the  subject.  Miss  Farrar  called  on  Ambassa- 
dor Tower  with  a  request  to  intercede  with  the 
Emperor  to  put  a  stop  to  the  scandalous  gos- 
siping of  the  member  of  his  court,  and  she 
brought  suit  against  the  offending  paper. 

Having  thus  thoroughly  established  herself 
in  Berlin,  her  fellow  countrymen  were  prepared 
to  give  her  a  rousing  welcome  on  her  return 
to  her  native  land,  for  she  was  said  to  be  the 
first  American  singer  ever  signed  for  a  long 
engagement  at  the  Royal  Opera-House  in  Ber- 
lin, she  had  been  asked  to  sing  before  the 
Kaiser  at  the  Wiesbaden  Festival  in  1902,  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Germany  had  shown  marked 
devotion  to  her,  she  was  a  friend  of  the  Royal 
family,  and  approved  of  by  the  "  mailed  fist," 


78     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

at  which  all  Europe  trembles,  and  finally  it  was 
reported  that  one  hundred  (more  or  less) 
prominent  Germans  had  proposed  marriage  to 
her. 

What  American  girl,  —  and  some  had  accom- 
plished wonderful  things,  —  what  American 
girl  had  ever  a  career  like  this? 

Miss  Farrar  was  interviewed  in  1908  and  the 
interview  was  printed  in  the  New  York  Sun. 
Much  comment  was  caused  thereby,  with  which 
we  have  little  to  do  in  these  pages.  To  the 
writer  the  interview  seems  full  of  well  thought 
out  and  pertinent  remarks  as  to  the  operatic 
sonditions  which  confront  the  young  American 
singer  in  her  native  land.  Let  us  quote  a  small 
portion  of  the  interview:  "  There  are  certain 
pinnacles  that  cannot  be  reached  except  by  long 
climbing.  There  are  psychological  poises  of 
thought,  feeling,  and  experience  that  are  long 
in  developing.  You  cannot  do  at  the  beginning 
of  your  career  what  you  know  you  will  be  able 
to  do  at  the  end  of  ten  or  fifteen  years.  And 
so  the  great  problem  that  is  interesting  me  is 
this:  Is  the  public  interested  in  watching  the 
slow  unfolding  of  a  young  singer's  talent,  or 
must  it  have  everything  offered  to  it  fried 
brown  and  curled  at  the  edges!  Are  they  gen- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       79 

erous  enough  to  give  a  chance?  Are  they 
content  to  take  what  is  offered  so  that  it  is 
offered  in  the  right  spirit,  and  help  the  on- 
going with  their  interest  and  sympathy?  I 
wonder.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  get- 
ting their  talent  full-blown,  ripe  from  the  Euro- 
pean opera-houses.  Is  there  place  as  well  for 
the  exuberance  of  youth  that  has  not  yet 
arrived!  I  feel  like  a  baby  amongst  my  col- 
leagues, and  naturally  ask  that  question  of  my- 
self frequently. ' ' 

Let  us  reply  to  a  few  of  Miss  Farrar's  ques- 
tions. 

The  public,  as  represented  simply  by  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  audiences,  espe- 
cially when  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
had  practically  a  monopoly  of  grand  opera 
in  America,  was  not  at  all  interested  in 
watching  the  slow  unfolding  of  a  young 
singer's  talent,  and  must  have  everything 
offered  to  it  fried  brown  and  curled  at 
the  edges.  Even  then  it  was  seldom  satisfied. 
The  opening  of  other  opera-houses  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  opera  in  other  cities  has  not 
only  given  employment  to  a  host  of  singers,  but 
has  put  upon  the  managers  the  burden  —  well, 
not  of  making  their  houses  profitable  finan- 


80     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

cially,  for  opera  has  always  flourished  upon 
failure,  —  but  of  losing  as  little  as  possible. 
Consequently,  all  the  singers  cannot  be 
high-priced  stars,  some  of  the  singers  must 
be  young  and  growing  singers,  who  have 
their  opportunity.  In  Boston,  in  Chicago  and 
Philadelphia,  and  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  also,  there  are  now  many  young  singers 
who  have  had  their  chance  and  who  are  succeed- 
ing. 

The  public  is  not  generous  enough  to  allow  a 
young  singer  to  make  several  fiascos,  but,  it 
has  now  been  shown  that  the  public  does  take 
great  interest  in  the  young  singers  who,  first 
taking  small  parts  and  disclosing  good  qualities, 
are  given  larger  parts  and  gradually  work  up  a 
reputation. 

There  is  hardly  yet  place  in  the  big  com- 
panies for  the  exuberance  of  youth  that  has 
not  yet  arrived,  but  there  is  opportunity  for 
its  arrival.  The  more  companies,  the  more 
opportunities. 

Greraldine  Farrar  was  herself  subject  to  more 
or  less  depreciatory  criticism.  Her  success  in 
Germany  had  led  New  York  audiences  to  ex- 
pect the  almost  impossible.  If  there  is  any- 
thing absolutely  unfair  to  the  singer  it  is  to 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       81 

1 

overdo  the  praise  in  advance,  and  then  criticise 
by  the  first  performance.  A  singer  should  be 
allowed  at  least  a  month  in  which  to  show  his 
ability  in  a  new  place. 

The  following  criticism  of  Geraldine  Farrar 
appeared  in  a  New  York  paper  after  her  first 
appearance :  ' '  There  are  perilously  high  stand- 
ards of  singing  as  well  as  of  acting  at  the 
Metropolitan,  and  Miss  Farrar  did  not  in  all 
respects  touch  the  former  of  these.  The  waltz 
song  (Romeo  and  Juliet)  told  the  story  of  both 
her  graceful  vocal  gifts  and  their  limitations. 
It  disclosed  a  voice  of  ample  size  and  wide 
range,  charming  so  long  as  it  was  used  in  quiet 
passages,  but  strident  in  its  upper  notes  and 
with  a  prevailing  cold  quality  in  moments  of 
stress." 

A  more  mature  criticism  was  that  made  by 
Philip  Hale,  when  Miss  Farrar  first  appeared 
in  Boston  in  April,  1907,  as  Marguerite  in 
"  Faust  ": 

"It  is  not  surprising  that  Miss  Farrar  was 
much  liked  by  the  audiences  of  the  Berlin  Eoyal 
Opera-House.  She  was  young,  she  was  phys- 
ically attractive,  and  whatever  her  vocal  faults 
may  have  been,  her  voice  was  undoubtedly  of 
more  beautiful  quality  than  that  of  any  ap- 


82     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

plauded  German  soprano.  .  .  .  Miss  Farrar's 
voice  is  a  lyric  soprano  of  indisputable  beauty 
and  charm  —  not  a  dramatic  voice  and  it  would 
not  bear  forcing,  but  it  is  the  voice  of  a  Mar- 
guerite, a  Juliet,  a  Manon.  A  fresh  and  youth- 
ful voice  with  a  tender  and  womanly  quality. 
As  a  singer  pure  and  simple,  she  is  not  yet  to 
be  reckoned  among  the  truly  great  who  shine  in 
both  lyric  and  dramatic  parts.  She  is  not  a 
mistress  of  bravura,  but  as  she  is  to-day  her 
singing  is  spontaneous  and  free  and  it  works 
a  spell.  .  .  .  Her  voice  alone  would  give  pleas- 
ure if  she  were  not  a  play  actress  of  much 
more  than  ordinary  ability.  Her  Marguerite  is 
poetic  yet  very  human.  .  .  .  Her  facial  expres- 
sion, her  gestures  and  her  repose  are  all  elo- 
quent and,  wonder  of  wonders,  they  are  singu- 
larly suited,  yet  without  too  deliberate  atten- 
tion to  the  music.  .  .  .  Young  as  Miss  Farrar 
is  she  has  already  mastered  the  great  art  of 
preparing  a  dramatic  climax.  .  .  .  And  what 
a  pleasure  it  was  to  see  a  youthful,  charming, 
graceful  Marguerite,  and  not  a  mature  woman, 
an  ineffectively  disguised  matron,  simulating 
laboriously  the  amorous  enthusiasm  of  maiden- 
hood! " 
These  are  criticisms  made  at  the  beginning 


GERALDINE   FARRAR  AS   MANON 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       83 

of  her  American  career.  During  the  intervening 
years  Miss  Farrar  has  gained  in  every  re- 
spect, and  has  been  one  of  the  strongest  attrac- 
tions whenever  she  has  appeared  in  opera. 

When  Geraldine  Farrar  sang  in  New  York  in 
1909  Mr.  Finck  compared  her  with  Madame 
Calve  in  the  following  words:  "  America  too 
has  produced  a  Calve.  Her  name  is  Geraldine 
Farrar.  Had  she  the  gift  of  perfect  coloratura, 
she  too  would  make  her  hearers  shiver  with 
terror  in  the  '  Hamlet  '  mad  scene.  That  role 
is  not  in  her  repertoire,  but  as  Mignon  she  is 
like  Calve  in  *  Carmen,'  so  true  to  life  that 
one  forgets  she  is  acting,  and  again  as  in 
Calve 's  case  one  is  so  absorbed  by  the  charm 
of  her  impersonation  that  one  may  fail  to 
realize  how  beautiful  is  her  song  as  such.  Once 
more  she  suggests  Calve  by  the  amazing  mobil- 
ity of  her  features ;  every  moment  her  facial  ex- 
pression changes  with  the  words  and  the  tones ; 
an  opera  glass  is  needed  incessantly  lest  one 
may  lose  subtle  details.  Geraldine  Farrar  does 
not  copy  Emma  Calve  in  the  least;  she  was  a 
pupil  of  Lilli  Lehmann  and  probably  never 
heard  Calve  till  she  came  to  New  York  two 
years  ago.  But  she  is  an  artist  of  the  Calve 
type.  Belasco  tried  to  induce  her  to  give  up 


84     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

the  operatic  stage  and  be  an  actress;  but 
that  is  not  to  be  thought  of.  Give  up  that 
lovely  voice,  —  that  art  of  emotional  song? 
Never. ' ' 

Mr.  Conried's  other  leading  attraction  in  the 
season  of  1906-1907  was  an  Italian  singer  named 
Lina  Cavalieri.  The  stories  of  her  career  which 
found  their  way  to  this  country  previous  to  her 
arrival,  excited  unusual  interest*  in  her,  and 
when  she  arrived  all  agreed  as  to  her  beauty 
though  there  were  widely  divergent  opinions 
as  to  her  singing. 

It  is  difficult  to  discover,  amongst  the  multi- 
tude of  accounts  of  her  career,  the  real  truth. 
She  was  a  Roman  of  humble  origin,  and  was 
brought  up  amongst  the  surroundings  of 
extreme  poverty.  As  a  child  she  had  to  earn 
money  and  help  her  mother.  Some  accounts 
say  that  she  sold  programs  at  a  theatre,  others 
that  she  worked  as  a  factory  girl,  and  others 
that  she  sold  flowers  in  the  cafes  of  the  Piazza 
Colonna,  and  the  neighborhood,  where  her  great 
beauty  won  her  many  admirers.  One  thing  is 
certainly  true,  that  the  proprietor  of  a  music 
hall  engaged  her  to  sing,  —  not  on  account  of 
her  voice,  but  because  he  felt  that  her  beauty 
would  prove  an  attraction. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       85 

Again  we  have  conflicting  stories.  One  ac- 
count says  that  one  of  the  princes  of  Italy  fell 
in  love  with  her  and  educated  her,  and  married 
her  against  the  wishes  of  his  family.  Another 
account  says  that  while  singing  at  the  cafe  she 
met  Leoncavallo,  the  composer,  who  gave  her 
lessons  and  fired  her  with  an  ambition  to  enter 
the  grand  opera  field.  Again  another  account 
says  that  she  travelled  from  town  to  town  with 
a  small  company  of  wandering  musicians,  sing- 
ing to  the  accompaniment  of  mandolin  or 
guitar.  Perhaps  a  mixture  of  all  three  stories 
may  bring  us  near  to  the  truth.  She  certainly 
did  not  become  a  Roman  princess,  she  evidently 
did  take  music  lessons,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  she  should  not  have  been  a  member  of 
some  travelling  company.  It  is  by  no  means 
an  unusual  occupation  for  an  aspiring  young 
singer. 

Some  time  later  Cavalieri  made  her  appear- 
ance at  the  Folies-Bergeres  in  Paris.  Here  she 
was  a  rival  of  Otero,  who  was  then  fascinating 
Paris  with  Spanish  songs  and  dances.  Cava- 
lieri danced  the  Tarantelle  and  soon  had  an 
immense  following.  Here,  in  Paris,  comes  a 
mysterious  story  of  a  Russian  prince,  who  fell 
desperately  in  love  with  her  and  married  her. 


86     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

At  any  rate,  she  disappeared  from  her  accus- 
tomed haunts,  and  for  some  time  nothing  was 
heard  of  her.  During  the  interim  she  had  been 
studying  singing  under  Madame  Mariani-Masi 
and  preparing  for  grand  opera.  She  is  said  to 
have  made  a  successful  debut  at  Lisbon  in  De- 
cember, 1900,  and  after  singing  in  various 
Italian  cities  attained  her  ambition  by  making 
her  Roman  debut  at  the  Teatro  Costanzi  as 
Mimi  in  "  La  Boheme." 

An  account  published  in  1902  says:  "  This 
beautiful  woman  was  born  at  Rome,  December 
25, 1874,  and  she  was  first  a  cafe-concert  singer. 
Her  more  serious  studies  were  guided  by  Mrs. 
Mariani-Masi.  After  her  debut  at  Lisbon,  Miss 
Cavalieri  sang  Mimi  in  Puccini's  Boheme  at 
Naples;  and  she  sang  at  Warsaw,  Violetta, 
Marguerite,  as  well  as  the  other  parts.  Then 
she  appeared  at  Ravenna,  Palermo,  St.  Peters- 
burg, Florence  and  other  towns.  She  returned 
to  Florence  two  months  or  so  ago,  and  she  had 
then  added  to  her  repertory  Manon  and  Fedora. 
A  correspondent  in  Florence  says  that  her  im- 
provement as  singer  and  play-actress  is 
marked,  and  that  she  no  longer  depends  on  her 
beauty  or  the  past  fame  of  her  cafe-concert 
nights. ' ' 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       87 

Madame  Cavalieri  sang  in  America  several 
seasons,  Oscar  Hammerstein  engaging  her 
when  her  contract  with  the  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany was  at  an  end.  In  1908  she  departed 
from  New  York  in  a  mysterious  manner,  but 
returned  the  following  season  to  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House. 

In  1910  she  became  engaged  to  and  married 
Robert  Winthrop  Chanler,  a  marriage  which 
she  said  was  for  comradeship  but  not  for  love. 
In  the  following  year  a  divorce  was  granted, 
after  financial  arrangements  had  been  agreed 
upon.  Madame  Cavalieri  was  to  have  returned 
to  America  in  the  season  of  1910-1911,  but  much 
discussion  ensued,  the  public  resenting  her  be- 
havior towards  Mr.  Chanler,  and  the  managers 
declaring  that  her  private  life  had  nothing  to 
do  with  her  career  as  an  artist.  Whatever  may 
be  the  correct  theories  in  such  cases  Madame 
Cavalieri  did  not  return  to  America. 

As  to  her  artistic  standing  compared  with 
other  singers  of  the  Metropolitan  and  Manhat- 
tan Opera-Houses,  Madame  Cavalieri  was  not 
one  of  the  highest  artistic  rank.  Without  her 
personal  beauty  she  would  probably  never  have 
been  engaged  at  either  of  those  houses.  One 
of  the  most  concise  and  best  estimates  of  her 


88     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

was  published  in  the  Boston  Transcript,  April 
4,  1908: 

"  Miss  Cavalieri  is  counted  an  interesting 
personality.  She  is  a  student  of  the  theatre, 
and  not  for  nothing  has  she  watched  the  mis- 
tresses of  acting  at  high  pitch  —  Bernhardt  or 
Duse.  The  French  word  for  Cavalieri 's  beauty 
is  *  troublant,'  and  it  used  to  run  up  and  down 
the  theatre  last  summer  when  she  was  singing 
and  acting  Thais  in  Paris.  It  is  a  beauty  that 
has  its  fire  and  that  is  the  mobile  mask  of  a  hot 
and  tireless  energy  of  will.  If  will  could  make 
a  mistress  of  the  art  of  song,  she  would  long 
since  have  been  such.  If  will  could  make  an 
enthralling  operatic  actress,  she  would  have 
been  such  as  early. ' ' 

When  Oscar  Hammerstein  engaged  Lina 
Cavalieri  for  the  Manhattan  Opera-House  he 
had  the  intention  of  letting  her  sing  Thais, 
in  which  role  she  had  been  very  successful  in 
Paris.  He  had,  however,  failed  to  take  into 
account  another  lady  in  his  company.  As  soon 
as  she  heard  of  this  engagement,  or  intention, 
Mary  Garden  cabled  her  resignation.  "  Thais  ' 
was  her  opera,  she  said.  Whatever  "  Thais  " 
was  in  America,  she  had  made  it,  and  she  would 
not  remain  in  the  company  if  any  other  person 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       89 

were  allowed  to  sing  this  role.  Madame  Cava- 
lieri,  she  said,  excelled  in  Italian  roles,  while 
she  herself  excelled  in  French  parts,  and,  of 
course,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  jealousy  in 
the  matter. 

Hammerstein  replied  to  her  in  a  most  diplo- 
matic manner.  He  had  two  contracts  with  his 
singers,  he  said.  The  first  was  written,  the 
second  was  unwritten.  The  latter  was  based 
on  loyalty  and  mutual  respect.  Miss  Garden 
had  always  been  loyal,  and  they  (he  and  she) 
were  good  friends.  If  the  occasion  had  caused 
her  anguish  he  would  remove  the  cause,  —  and 
the  name  of  Madame  Cavalieri  was  stricken 
from  the  announcement  of  ' '  Thais. ' ' 

The  disturbance  spread  amongst  the  singers 
and  musicians  of  the  company,  and  there  was 
enmity  between  the  French  and  the  Italian 
members.  To  such  lengths  did  it  go  that  even 
Cleofonti  Campanini,  the  conductor,  was  drawn 
into  the  controversy,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
the  cause  of  his  resignation,  at  the  end  of  the 
season,  from  the  Manhattan  Company. 

Having  reaped  a  large  amount  of  glory  from 
the  production  of  "  Parsifal  "  Mr.  Conried 
next  decided  to  produce  the  much  talked  of  new 
opera  of  Richard  Strauss  —  "  Salome."  It  is 


90     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

not  necessary  to  enter  at  length  into  the  story 
of  the  opera,  which  is  known  to  every  one  who 
reads  the  Bible.  The  libretto  was  written  by 
Oscar  Wilde,  and  is  said  to  be  the  most  dramatic 
play  that  he  ever  wrote.  As  a  drama  it  had 
been  played  in  New  York  in  1905  by  the  Pro- 
gressive Stage  Society,  and  it  had  been  given 
at  the  Irving  Place  Theatre  in  1906. 

On  its  production  at  Dresden  the  music  was 
described  as  "  grandiose  and  staggering  in  its 
vehemence,"  —  Wagner  surpassed,  —  voices 
quite  secondary.  "  Strauss  has  given  the  or- 
chestra something,"  said  the  critic,  "  which 
only  perfect  musicians  perfectly  trained  and 
conducted  could  master,  and  so  varied  is  the 
score,  so  full  of  color,  that  it  is  quite  impos- 
sible for  any  but  the  largest  and  best  equipped 
opera-houses  to  produce  it  as  it  ought  to  be 
produced.  .  .  .  The  opera  is  packed  with 
'  motifs,'  every  person  and  every  passion  has 
its  '  motif  ' ;  the  result  is  an  exasperating  tangle 
of  '  motifs  '  impossible  to  unravel.  The  orches- 
tration is  most  remarkable,  —  the  strings  have 
sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  parts,  in  order  to 
obtain  unusual  effects  in  color."  Mr.  Lawrence 
Oilman  in  a  hand-book  which  he  issued  at 
the  time  of  "  Salome's  "  production  wrote: 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       91 

' '  Strauss  requires  his  violas  and  'cellos  to  play 
many  parts  immemniorially  delegated  to  vio- 
lins; makes  his  double  basses  cavort  with  the 
agility  and  abandon  of  clarinets;  writes  un- 
heard of  figures  for  the  tympani  players,  and 
demands  of  the  trombonist  that  he  transform 
his  instrument  into  a  flute." 

In  addition  to  new  effects  on  old  instruments, 
new  instruments  were  introduced,  notably  the 
"  heckelphone,"  which  is  described  as  a 
cross  between  an  English  horn  and  a  bass 
clarinet. 

In  parts  of  the  opera  some  of  the  sections  of 
the  orchestra  play  in  keys  half  a  tone  removed 
from  the  mode  being  used  at  the  same  time  by 
other  groups  of  the  orchestra.  At  one  place  the 
orchestra  plays  in  B  flat  major  while  Salome 
sings  steadily  on  B  natural,  and  in  almost 
every  phrase  the  singers  end  in  a  different  key 
from  the  one  in  which  they  began.  The  music 
displays  the  greatest  genius  in  the  very  epi- 
sodes where  it  concerns  itself  with  the  unnatu- 
ral, criminal  elements  of  the  story. 

It  is  related  that  the  production  of  "  Sa- 
lome "  caused  a  coolness  between  Strauss  and 
the  Kaiser,  for  Strauss  was  informed  that  his 
Majesty  considered  the  writing  of  such  an 


92     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

opera  on  such  a  theme  as  "  Salome  "  unworthy 
of  him  and  not  conducive  to  the  advancement  of 
pure  art.  Strauss  replied  that  he  was  not  go- 
ing to  take  lessons  from  any  one,  no  matter  how 
highly  placed,  unless  his  inherent  knowledge 
on  the  subject  was  superior  to  his  own.  The 
German  Emperor  decided  that  "  Salome  " 
should  not  be  sung  at  Berlin. 

After  all  the  tremendous  amount  of  comment 
and  criticism  and  excitement  in  Europe  Conried 
produced  this  opera  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  in  January,  1906.  The  cast  was :  Salome, 
Olive  Fremstadt;  Herodias,  Marion  Weed; 
Herod,  Carl  Burrian ;  John  the  Baptist,  Anton 
van  Rooy. 

The  comment  upon  the  opera  was  voluminous. 
The  Congregational  ministers  made  a  protest 
against  it,  as  did  many  other  bodies  of  people 
and  individuals,  but  the  matter  was  set  at  rest, 
so  far  as  New  York  and  Mr.  Conried  were  con- 
cerned, through  a  letter  sent  to  him  by  the 
directors  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in 
which  they  said  that  the  performance  of  "  Sa- 
lome "  was  objectionable  and  detrimental  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  and  protesting  against  any  repetition. 
This  was  doubly  disappointing  to  Conried  be- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       93 

cause  the  presentation  of  this  opera  was  made 
at  a  benefit  performance  for  himself. 

Some  three  or  more  years  later  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein  produced  "  Salome  "  and  the  storm 
began  again.  Mary  Garden  appeared  as  Sa- 
lome, Madame  Doria  as  Herodias,  Hector 
Dufranne  as  John,  and  Dalmores  as  Herod. 
In  Boston  and  Chicago  vigorous  protests  were 
made,  and  Oscar  Hammer  stein  politely  with- 
drew the  opera,  after  having  made  himself  the 
centre  of  a  newspaper  storm.  And  here  is  a 
lesson  to  be  learned,  —  if  an  opera  is  too  bad 
for  the  people,  or  the  people  too  good  for  an 
opera,  silence  will  kill  it  more  effectually  than 
vehement  protest. 

The  following  estimate  of  the  season's  new 
singers  was  published  in  the  "  Musician,"  in 
July,  1907: 

"  Frau  Fleischer-Edel,  who  was  imported 
for  Wagnerian  roles,  is  a  not  uncommon  type 
of  German  singer,  although  her  voice  is  an  or- 
gan of  considerable  beauty  and  power.  Un- 
fortunately it  is  tainted  with  many  of  the  vices 
of  tone  production  characteristic  of  that  school 
of  Wagnerian  singers  whose  methods  have 
never  recommended  themselves  to  lovers  of 
beautiful  singing. 


94     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

11  The  same  criticism  applies  to  the  Wag- 
nerian  tenor,  Carl  Burrian,  a  Bohemian  from 
the  Dresden  Opera-House.  Burrian  is  an  in- 
telligent artist,  but  not  one  in  the  same  class 
with  Knote,  and  his  voice  lacks  the  natural 
beauty  of  Burgstaller's.  Nevertheless,  those 
who  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  that 
remarkable  performance  of  Strauss 's  extraor- 
dinary opera  at  the  Metropolitan  are  not  likely 
to  forget  Burrian 's  marvellous  interpretation 
of  Herod.  However  the  critic  may  feel  about 
*  Salome,'  musically  or  ethically,  Burrian 's 
Herod  must  stand  with  the  Mime  of  Reiss  and 
the  Loge  of  Van  Dyck,  as  one  of  the  finely 
wrought  creations  of  the  operatic  stage. 

"  Madame  Kirkby-Lunn,  the  English  con- 
tralto, did  not  sing  here  for  the  first  time  this 
season,  but  her  previous  appearances  have  been 
so  few  that  her  beautiful  voice  has  not  been  so 
generally  appreciated  before. 

"  Rousseliere,  the  new  French  tenor  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House,  proved  a  singer  of 
uneven  qualities.  His  voice  at  times  had  much 
beauty  of  tone,  but  he  had,  unfortunately,  the 
tendency  to  false  intonation  to  which  singers  of 
his  nationality  seem  peculiarly  liable. 

11  Bousseliere    was    disappointing    on    the 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       95 

whole.  Vocal  affectations  marred  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  enjoyable  passages,  and 
when  his  opportunity  came  in  the  shape  of  top 
notes  he  too  frequently  drove  them  vociferously 
to  be  agreeable.  His  Romeo  was  a  manly,  if 
not  a  handsome  picture. 

"  Carl  Burrian  came  to  this  country  in  1907, 
with  the  reputation  of  being  a  fine  singer  with 
an  extraordinary  voice,  and  an  accomplished 
musician.  He  was  a  student  in  Berlin  but  made 
his  first  operatic  appearance  in  Hamburg,  after 
which  he  went  to  Buda-Pesth.  When  Maurice 
Grau  persuaded  Anthes  to  break  his  contract 
with  the  Dresden  authorities  and  come  to  New 
York,  Burrian  was  called  to  Dresden  to  take 
his  place. 

"  Burrian 's  most  notable  characters  are 
Siegfried,  Siegmund,  Tristan,  and  Herod  in 
Strauss 's  '  Salome,'  which  part  he  created  in 
1907  at  the  Dresden  Opera-House.  That  Bur- 
rian did  not  please  all  people  in  this  country 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  criticism: 
'  Burrian,  the  new  German  tenor,  is  of  the 
strong-lunged,  steel-toned,  hard-fisted,  work-a- 
day  Teutonic  variety,  —  strenuous,  intelli- 
gently strenuous,  but  little  else.'  : 

This,  however,  is  hardly  a  fair  or  detailed 


96     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

criticism  of  Burrian's  artistic  ability,  and  per- 
haps the  account  given  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Parker,  of 
the  Boston  Transcript,  of  Mr.  Burrian's  per- 
formance of  Herod  will  show  that  he  has  great 
merit : 

"  Burrian  is  more  than  a  declaimer  of 
Strauss 's  broken  phrases  above  a  writhing 
orchestra.  He  sings,  indeed,  according  to  the 
German  school  as  it  now  goes,  but  according  to 
that  school  in  its  best  estate.  He  has  its  clear- 
ness of  articulation,  but  it  is  an  articulation  of 
the  phrases  of  the  music  as  well  as  of  the  text. 
He  maintains,  oftener  than  he  chops,  the  mel- 
odic line.  He  sings  with  freedom  and  he  sings 
in  tune.  His  voice  has  the  tenor  quality,  a  little 
hardened,  it  is  true,  but  not  often  pinched  or 
gritty.  He  sings  with  intelligence,  and  he 
clothes  his  tones,  when  he  will,  with  an  emo- 
tional quality  that  is  more  than  energy.  They 
can  come  even  sensuously  to  the  ear. 

"  In  no  one  of  his  parts  has  he  touched  the 
vividness  of  character  that  makes  the  Herod  a 
subtle,  uncanny,  creeping  and  haunting  thing. 
He  takes  his  Siegmund  and  Siegfrieds  and 
Tristan  with  clear  and  straightforward  capa- 
bility. There  is  not  much  individuality  in  his 
impersonation  of  them;  seldom  does  a  partic- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       97 

ular  stroke  in  action  or  tonal  quality  stir  the 
listener.  Yet  with  all  this  prudent  soundness 
they  are  neither  uninteresting  nor  inert.  Per- 
haps '  businesslike  '  is  the  truest  word  for  Mr. 
Burrian,  with  his  Herod  for  the  exception  to 
prove  the  rule." 

Carl  Burrian  had  various  legal  troubles, — 
when  he  came  to  America  he  broke  his  contract 
with  the  Dresden  Royal  Opera,  and  the  King 
of  Saxony  brought  suit  against  him  in  the 
courts  of  Prague,  through  Count  Seebach  the 
intendant.  The  King  won  his  suit  and  Burrian 
was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  $3700.  In  the 
meantime,  while  Burrian  was  at  the  Metropoli- 
tan Opera-House,  he  signed  a  contract  to  sing 
at  the  Royal  Opera-House  in  Vienna,  the  fine 
being  paid  by  the  Vienna  management. 

Burrian  left  America  in  February,  1912,  and, 
though  he  had  won  a  large  measure  of  artistic 
success,  he  departed  declaring  that  he  was  glad 
to  get  out  of  the  country,  and  that  its  so-called 
liberty  was  a  myth.  Under  the  circumstances, 
which  had  to  do  with  his  private  life,  perhaps 
this  was  the  highest  praise  that  he  could  have 
bestowed  upon  the  American  people. 

Mr.  Burrian  took  opportunity  to  express 
some  views  about  American  audiences,  for  the 


98     The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

following  "  interview  "  appeared  in  the  New 
York  Times  in  1908 :  "  When  opera  in  New  York 
begins  at  eight,  the  audience  arrives  about  nine. 
It  is  not  good  form  to  remain  after  eleven.  In 
the  boxes  there  is  a  continual  coming  and  going, 
and  people  look  at  each  other  instead  of  what 
is  happening  on  the  stage.  The  climax  of  the 
opera  is  the  intermission,  when  women  in  grand 
toilettes  promenade  on  the  arms  of  their  es- 
corts. Bayreuth  may  well  hide  its  diminished 
head.  If  the  tenor  has  a  solo  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  opera  he  must  sing  it  to  himself,  —  the 
audience  is  no  more.  The  restaurants  have 
claimed  it.  The  way  in  which  Wagner  is  cut  is 
fearful.  To  hear  a  thing  quickly  is  the  motto 
of  the  new  world.  Mahler  has  had  to  submit  in 
silence  to  this  cutting  of  Wagner's  operas.  He 
is  a  great  artist  and  wants  to  set  German  opera 
on  its  feet  in  America.  American  audiences 
flock  to  French  and  Italian  opera  but  not  to 
German. ' ' 

There  have  been  lusty  efforts  to  set  German 
opera  on  its  feet  during  the  past  fifty  or  more 
years,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  remain  erect. 
Perhaps  it  is  topheavy,  but  it  certainly  does 
have  an  enthusiastic,  if  not  large  following. 

In  regard  to   the  inattention   of  audiences 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House       99 

perhaps  the  only  remedy  would  be  to  put  the 
boxes  in  the  gallery,  and  the  gallery  seats 
where  the  boxes  usually  are.  The  singer  is 
not  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  true  opera 
lover  stowed  away  under  the  roof,  parting  with 
its  hard-earned  dollar,  and  frequently  making 
a  real  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  the  music. 

Claude  Rousseliere  is  the  son  of  a  blacksmith 
of  St.  Nazaire,  France,  and  was  brought  up 
with  the  idea  of  following  his  father's  trade, 
which  he  did  for  two  years.  Then  his  voice  at- 
tracted notice  and  he  went  to  Paris,  presented 
himself  for  matriculation  at  the  Conservatoire, 
without  preparation,  and  was  accepted  on  the 
spot.  Three  years  later,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  he  won  the  first  prize  for  singing,  and 
was  engaged  to  sing  at  the  Grand  Opera  in 
Paris.  Although  he  has  had  many  opportuni- 
ties offering  great  temptation,  he  has  steadily 
refused  to  leave  the  Grand  Opera,  and  until 
his  engagement  for  America,  is  said  to  have 
made  only  one  exception,  when  he  went  to  Brus- 
sels to  create  the  part  of  Prometheus. 

Rousseliere  has  a  clear  ringing  voice,  and  is 
personally  mnch  liked  among  singers. 

When  Madame  Morena  first  appeared  in 
America  in  February,  1908,  she  was  described 


100  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

as  one  of  the  youngest  singing  actresses  of 
opera  at  Munich,  —  her  Semitic  comeliness,  her 
personal  charm,  her  imagination  and  expression 
as  an  actress  and  the  emotional  coloring  of  her 
tones  have  established  her  with  the  public  in 
Germany.  Munich  knows  her  chiefly  in  the 
parts  of  the  younger  women  of  Wagner's 
operas,  —  Elsa,  Elizabeth,  Senta,  and  Sieg- 
linde,  and  especially  as  a  remarkable  Leonora 
in  Beethoven's  "  Fidelio." 

' '  Morena,  —  tall,  broad-shouldered,  deep- 
chested,  but  not  stout.  Well  formed  and  of 
an  ideal  build  for  the  Wagnerian  heroic  roles. 
Her  features  are  classic  in  their  regularity,  — 
her  dark  hair,  parted  in  the  middle,  waves  sim- 
ply back  from  her  forehead;  her  warm  brown 
eyes  gaze  out  frankly  from  under  level  brows. 
Although  much  heralded,  she  came  up  to  and 
surpassed  expectations,  when  she  made  her  de- 
but in  1908. ' '  Thus  she  was  pictured. 

Berta  Morena  was  born  at  Mannheim  of  poor 
parents,  and  for  years  it  seemed  as  if  her  talents 
would  not  be  known  outside  of  her  home  world. 
Her  introduction  to  the  larger  world  of  music 
came  about  through  Franz  von  Lenbach,  a 
great  painter,  who  admired  her  beauty,  when 
he  met  her  in  Munich,  and  introduced  her  to 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

BERTA    MORENA 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      101 

Ernest  von  Possart,  the  director  of  the  Royal 
Opera.  Von  Possart  heard  her  sing,  and  after 
a  brief  course  of  study  she  was  engaged  by 
him  and  made  her  first  ajppearance  as  Agathe 
in  "  Der  Freyschutz."  She  was  then  only  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  and  she  revealed  so  much 
promise  that  she  was  hailed  as  a  rising  star. 
Her  operatic  career  being  now  really  begun, 
she  appeared  as  Selika  in  "  L 'Af  ricaine, " 
Senta  in  "  The  Flying  Dutchman,"  Elizabeth 
in  "  Tannhauser,"  Santuzza  in  "  Cavalleria 
Rusticana,"  Sieglinde  in  "  Die  Walkiire,"  and 
the  there  Brunnhildes,  and  as  Isolde  in  "  Tris- 
tan und  Isolde." 

Soon  after  her  arrival  in  America  it  was  real- 
ized that  she  had  made  an  impression  upon  the 
public.  One  critic  wrote  that  she  had  made  a 
greater  impression  than  any  German  singer 
since  Ternina 's  time.  "  In  a  sense,  Berta 
Morena  has  been  a  pupil  of  Ternina,  for  when 
she  went  to  Munich  to  succeed  to  many  of  the 
parts  taken  by  Ternina,  the  elder  singer  was 
generous  of  help  and  counsel." 

Practically  Miss  Morena  made  her  reputation 
and  had  her  career  in  Munich,  but  in  more  re- 
cent years  her  fame  spread  and  brought  her  to 
other  houses,  and  eventually  to  America. 


102  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

In  1908,  when  she  first  visited  this  country, 
she  was  described  as  follows:  "  She  is  young 
and  comely  with  not  a  trace  of  housewifely 
savor  and  unconscious  provinciality  that  hung 
about  most  of  her  sister  German  singers.  Dis- 
tinctly she  is  a  woman  of  the  world.  Moreover, 
and  again  in  agreeable  contrast  to  most  of  her 
recent  predecessors,  she  is  alert  and  elastic  in 
body  and  mind.  As  Sieglinde,  as  Elizabeth  or 
as  Leonora,  she  is  good  to  see.  Once,  as  the 
report  from  Munich  goes,  she  was  a  cold  statu- 
esque beauty.  The  comeliness  has  ripened, 
warmed  and  softened  into  a  dark-haired,  dark- 
eyed,  clear-skinned  comeliness  of  singularly 
sympathetic  charm.  It  is  mobile  now,  and  Miss 
Morena's  face  and  figure  are  elastic  now  to 
whatever  she  would  have  them  express.  Face 
and  form  touch  the  spectator's  imagination 
with  womanly  suggestion  when  she  disguises 
herself  as  Elizabeth,  and  as  Leonora  her  fea- 
tures and  figure  and  the  wholesome  charm  that 
springs  from  her  make  her  becomingly  illusive 
as  the  wistful,  anxious,  pretending  and  myste- 
rious youth  that  is  Fidelio.  So  in  all  she  has 
done  Miss  Morena  has  shown  the  pictorial  sense 
that  wins  the  eye  and  the  imagination.  She 
commands  a  rather  unusual  sympathy,  a  quick 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      103 

and  favoring  predisposition  to  all  that  she  is 
about  to  do. 

"  This  same  sympathetic  quality  dwells  in 
her  tones.  Her  voice  is  full,  warm,  clear,  truly 
transparent  in  its  upper  notes,  smooth  and  sup- 
ple in  all  its  range.  It  has  beauty  itself;  it  is 
used  with  a  skill  that  is  rare  among  the  younger 
German  singers,  and  it  has  unmistakable  and 
immediately  persuasive  emotional  qualities. 
She  has  knowledge  and  training  in  singing, 
and  she  respects  her  medium.  As  Leonora  in 
1  Fidelio  '  she  heightens  often  the  expressive 
quality  of  Beethoven's  relentless  music,  and 
her  tones  seem  the  voice  of  the  character  and 
the  moment.  Still  more  in  Elizabeth  her  voice 
is  potent  with  feeling,  and  with  the  peculiarly 
womanly  and  sympathetic  feeling  that  is  the 
unique  trait  of  Miss  Morena's  temperament. 
The  emotional  quality  does  not  command,  it 
persuades  and  warms  the  listener.  Thus  she 
imparts  character,  mood  and  passion  with  her 
tones,  but  she  is  persuasive  in  the  purely  his- 
trionic side  of  her  art.  There  she  does  not  go 
much  beyond  intelligent  convention,  but  she 
keeps  it  unlabored,  and  infuses  it  with  the  same 
persuasion  that  is  in  all  she  does.  The  mag- 
netism of  sympathy  is  in  her,  and  she  has 


104  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

stirred  her  audiences  to  a  quick  and  warm 
liking  that  has  rarely  rewarded  a  German 
singer  in  America  in  recent  years.  Unmista- 
kably she  has  the  sense  of  beauty." 

In  March,  1912,  an  interview  was  printed  in 
one  of  the  musical  journals  in  which  Miss  Mo- 
rena  gave  expression  to  some  opinions  which 
are  worth  repeating.  The  first  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  musical  students,  and  refers  to  the  ad- 
vice given  her  by  Von  Possart,  who  is  a  cele- 
brated actor,  in  regard  to  the  expression  of 
emotion.  She  said :  '  *  Possart  told  me  to  watch 
and  notice  how  things  were  done,  but  above  all 
to  get  into  the  skin  of  the  characters  I  was  sing- 
ing, to  feel  the  emotions  they  were  supposed  to 
be  feeling  and  then  to  act  in  the  way  that  I 
thought  they  would  act  under  the  circumstances. 
That  is  precisely  what  I  did  and  that  has  been 
my  method  to  the  present  day.  I  feel  in  my  own 
heart  what  the  one  that  I  am  personating  feels. 
It  must  be  sincere.  I  cannot  make  believe  or 
imitate.  If  I  were  only  to  endeavor  to  sham 
emotion,  to  simulate  feeling,  nothing  would 
come  of  it.  If  I  am  expressing  joy  on  the  stage 
I  am,  for  the  moment,  truly  joyous.  That  is  the 
way,  I  should  think,  every  singer  would  go 
about  it.  However,  individualities  differ,  so 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      105 

one  cannot  lay  down  rules.  Curious  though, 
isn't  it,  that  I  need  the  make-up,  the  scenery, 
the  stage  settings,  in  order  to  feel  and,  conse- 
quently, to  act  at  all." 

The  next  matter  of  remark  will  also  be  of 
interest  to  the  students  of  opera,  as  well  as  to 
American  audiences.  It  refers  to  the  "  special- 
ization "  which  dominates  everything  in  Amer- 
ica, and  from  which  the  opera  singer  is  not  im- 
mune: "  One  does  get  so  tired  of  singing  the 
same  roles  over  and  over  again,  especially  when 
there  are  only  four  or  five  of  them.  In  Ger- 
many an  artist  gets  a  chance  to  do  a  great  vari- 
ety of  parts;  in  fact  one  has  to,  because  there 
we  do  not  have  a  special  company  to  do  Italian 
works,  another  for  French  operas,  and  a  third 
for  German  pieces.  And  the  repertoire  of  even 
the  smaller  houses  have  to  be  so  much  more 
comprehensive.  If  they  do  Wagner  and  the 
modern  things,  they  have  not  therefore  aban- 
doned '  Les  Huguenots,'  '  L'Africaine,'  '  La 
Juive,'  and  all  the  rest  of  the  old-time 
favorites.  They  have  far  more  need  of  them 
than  they  do  here,  for  the  Germans  hold 
to  them  more  tenaciously,  even  if  they  are 
worn." 

To  which  tlie  reply  of  the  average  American 


106  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

opera-goer  would  probably  be  that  nothing  but 
"  the  best  "  will  do  here.  Does  not  the  im- 
presario announce  that  he  has  engaged  Ma- 
dame So-and-so  to  sing  certain  parts,  thus 
giving  the  impression  that  the  Madame  is  a 
specialist,  although  she  probably  has  a  reper- 
toire of  thirty  or  more  operas? 

The  following  will  be  of  interest  to  opera- 
goers  in  general,  as  it  has  a  bearing  on  operatic 
manners  in  America  as  compared  with  those 
of  Germany:  "  I  do  like  American  audiences, 
but  there  is  always  one  thing  that  puzzles  me. 
Why  must  they  arrive  at  the  opera  after  it  has 
started  and  leave  before  it  is  over,  whereas 
when  in  Europe  they  are  the  most  devout  of  all 
listeners  ?  Yes,  that  is  one  of  the  most  amazing 
phenomena  that  I  have  ever  remarked.  At  the 
festivals  in  Munich  the  Americans  sit  from 
beginning  to  end  in  the  profoundest,  most  rev- 
erent contemplation,  as  though  they  were  at  a 
religious  service.  Their  attentiveness  sur- 
passes that  of  the  Germans  themselves  at  such 
times,  or  the  English  or  any  others.  But  here ! 
Never  does  the  whole  audience  dream  of  being 
on  hand  for  the  start,  nor  does  it  remain  till  the 
close.  To  the  singer  on  the  stage  this  is  most 
nerve-racking.  It  takes  all  my  power  of  con- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      107 

centration  sometimes  to  keep  my  nerves  from 
giving  way,  for  it  is  a  terrible  strain  to  be  con- 
scious of  this  continual  disturbance  in  the  au- 
dience, to  hear  a  sort  of  constant  hum,  as  of  a 
swarm  of  bees.  Even  though  the  artist  may  not 
be  able  to  see  what  is  passing  in  the  auditorium 
the  sense  of  disturbance  is  born  to  him  very 
keenly. ' ' 

The  answer  to  this  may  be,  perhaps,  that  the 
Americans  who  go  abroad  to  hear  opera  are 
mostly  music  lovers  whose  occupations  are 
away  from  the  few  cities  in  which  opera  can  be 
heard.  They  go  as  a  matter  of  business  and 
education,  while  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  audiences  in  American  opera-houses  con- 
sist of  those  who  go  as  a  matter  of  pleasure, 
or  regard  the  opera  as  a  social  function.  Such 
people  at  least  occupy  the  seats  from  which  dis- 
turbance would  be  most  apparent  to  the  per- 
former. 

Miss  Morena  also  remarks  pertinently  on 
the  size  of  American  opera-houses :  ' '  The  au- 
ditorium of  the  Metropolitan  seems  really  too 
large  —  too  large  for  even  Wagner  operas. 
The  distances  in  it  are  so  great  that  all  sense 
of  intimacy  between  singers  and  audience  is 
lost.  Facial  expression  counts  for  nothing  at 


108  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

all  unless  one  uses  one's  opera  glasses  continu- 
ously, and  this,  in  the  end,  must  mean  a  great 
strain.  Yet  the  play  of  features  is  of  such  im- 
portance in  Wagner !  And,  besides,  in  propor- 
tioning one's  gestures  to  the  size  of  this  house 
one  has  often  to  exaggerate  them,  and  this 
makes  them  seem  very  foolish.  There  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  Wagner  operas 
would  sound  too  heavy  in  a  smaller  place.  The 
Prinz  Regenten  Theatre  in  Munich,  and  even 
the  Bayreuth  house  are  very  much  smaller,  and 
yet  no  one  ever  complains  that  they  are  not 
large  enough.  Why,  Bayreuth  seats  only 
twelve  hundred.  A  singer  feels  so  little  on  the 
stage  of  the  Metropolitan  and  it  seems  as  if  he 
must  go  to  all  sorts  of  extremes  to  make  clear 
his  action  to  the  people  in  the  remote  parts  of 
it.  Then  there  is  also  the  great  temptation  to 
force  the  voice,  although  this  is  unnecessary, 
as  the  acoustics  of  the  place  could  hardly  be 
better." 

Perhaps  the  best  reply  to  this  comment  is 
that  the  price  which  the  impresario  is  obliged 
to  pay  to  the  singers  in  this  country  is  so  much 
larger  and  the  expenses  generally  so  far  ex- 
ceed those  of  Germany,  especially  in  the  cities 
where  opera  is  subsidized,  that  even  with  the 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      109 

greater  seating  capacity  opera  has  seldom  been 
made  to  meet  its  expenses. 

The  following  review  appeared  in  one  of  the 
leading  musical  journals  in  1912 : 

"  Berta  Morena's  Sieglinde  is  not  new  to 
New  Yorkers,  and  has  been  acclaimed  previ- 
ously as  one  of  the  commanding  portrayals  in 
the  Wagnerian  annals  of  this  metropolis.  The 
role  requires,  before  all  things,  loveliness  of 
appearance  and  charm  of  voice,  then  gentle 
womanliness  and  thoroughly  human  appeal. 
All  those  requisites  are  Madame  Morena's  in 
generous  measure,  and  she  gave  of  them  freely 
and  fully  last  Thursday  afternoon,  making  her 
Sieglinde  contribution  a  joy  to  the  soul  of  even 
the  most  fastidious  Wagner  enthusiast.  Plas- 
ticity and  grace  in  gesture  and  masterful  com- 
mand of  tone  production  and  the  entire  gamut 
of  emotional  inflections  again  were  striking 
features  of  the  Morena  performance.  She  has 
made  the  Sieglinde  character  her  own,  and  is 
one  of  the  Wagnerian  impersonators  who  may 
be  said  unreservedly  to  represent  the  exact 
ideal  Wagner  had  in  mind  when  he  penned 
the  music  and  fashioned  the  actions  of  the 
most  sympathetic  of  all  that  composer's  hero- 
ines." 


110  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

11  Madame  Morena 's  Elsa  is  a  movingly 
beautiful  impersonation,  one  of  the  loveliest 
ever  witnessed  on  the  stage  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House.  First,  a  vision  of  girlishness  as 
she  appears  before  the  King,  singing  the 
1  Dream  '  with  perfect  repose  and  a  vocal  art 
that  was  faultless.  Every  gesture,  every  shade 
of  expression  on  the  classic  countenance  was  a 
study,  as  she  is  questioned  about  the  knight 
of  her  fancies.  When  the  knight  does  arrive, 
one  beholds  again  a  transformation  of  the  eyes 
and  features,  all  indicative  of  ecstasy,  surprise 
and  tenderness.  It  is  the  art  of  facial  expres- 
sion, of  gesture,  of  emotion  —  the  great  art  of 
acting  —  that  Madame  Morena  has  mastered, 
and  the  command  of  it  constitutes  her  a  great 
artist.  In  the  more  emotional  scenes,  one  was 
moved  again  by  her  temperament  and  dramatic 
force.  Elsa,  which  every  aspiring  debutante 
imagines  is  a  part  easily  learned,  is  in  fact  one 
of  the  most  difficult  roles,  demanding  of  the 
singer  the  widest  possible  range  of  dramatic 
expression.  The  visionary  Elsa  of  the  first 
act  is  not  the  same  woman  of  the  third  act, 
where,  overtaken  by  curiosity,  she  insistently 
exacts  the  truth  concerning  her  lord's  origin. 
In  this  third  act  Madame  Morena  was  strj- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      111 

kingly  forceful  in  voice  and  action,  as  in 
other  moments  she  was  all  gentleness  and  re- 
serve. ' ' 

Lillian  Grenville,  whose  family  name  is  Goert- 
ner, is  a  native  of  New  York.  She  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in 
Montreal,  and  while  singing  at  vespers  her  voice 
was  noticed  by  M.  Fortier,  the  music  teacher, 
who  predicted  a  great  future  for  her.  Two 
years  later  Mrs.  Goertner  took  her  daughter  to 
Paris  and  Naples  to  study  singing.  Although 
her  mother  did  not  want  her  to  go  on  the  stage 
Miss  Goertner  sang  for  the  director  of  the 
opera-house  at  Nice  and  was  engaged.  She 
took  her  mother's  maiden  name  for  the  stage, 
and  after  Nice  sang  at  the  Teatro  Lyrique  in 
Milan  and  at  the  San  Carlo  in  Naples.  In  five 
years  she  won  a  reputation  as  an  opera  singer 
in  France  and  Germany,  and  eventually  came 
back  to  America  and  became  a  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company. 

Jane  Noria  was  well  known  in  America  under 
her  proper  name  of  Josephine  Ludwig.  She  is 
a  native  of  St.  Louis,  and  sang  two  seasons  in 
Henry  M.  Savage's  English  Opera  Company. 
Then  she  went  abroad  to  get  experience  in  the 
world  of  Grand  Opera.  She  sang  several  sea- 


112  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

sons  in  France  and  Italy  before  coming  back 
to  her  native  land. 

Henrietta  Wakefield  was,  when  she  joined 
the  Metropolitan  Company,  its  youngest  con- 
tralto. Her  career  began  when,  at  twelve  years 
of  age,  she  was  a  member  of  the  choir  of  the 
North  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York,  her 
native  city.  She  was  a  pupil  of  Emily  Winant, 
who  is  still  remembered  as  an  excellent  church 
and  oratorio  singer. 

Mr.  Conried  heard  her  sing  and  engaged  her, 
and  she  made  her  debut  in  the  part  of  Adrienne 
Lecouvreur  with  Caruso  in  the  cast.  When 
Grustav  Mahler  was  conductor  Mrs.  Wakefield 
was  cast  for  the  Peasant  Mother  in  "  The  Bar- 
tered Bride,"  and  Cieca  in  "  La  Gioconda." 
She  has  had  parts  in  many  of  the  standard 
operas,  and  has  been  busy  in  recent  years  with 
concert  engagements  after  the  opera  season. 

Feodor  Chaliapine  attained  his  prominence 
in  the  operatic  world  only  after  trying  many 
other  occupations.  He  was  born  at  Kazan, 
where  he  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  was 
then  apprenticed  to  a  shoemaker.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  he  worked  in  a  shop  at  Kazan  op- 
posite to  which  was  a  baker 's  shop  in  which  was 
employed  Maxim  Gorky,  who  had  not  then  be- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      113 

gun  to  write.  Later,  Chaliapine  became  for- 
warding clerk  in  the  service  of  the  Ural  Rail- 
way Company,  at  Oufa.  Near  him  again  was 
Gorky,  engaged  at  testing  wagon  wheels  and  in 
shunting  operations. 

Chaliapine  again  changed  his  occupation  and 
worked  at  loading  melons  on  a  cargo  boat  for 
the  princely  stipend  of  seventeen  cents  a  day. 
He  was  fond  of  the  theatre,  and  now  and  then 
would  throw  up  his  occupation  and  join  a  com- 
pany of  strolling  players.  He  was  in  turn  come- 
dian, singer  in  operetta,  street  vender,  handy 
man  at  the  theatre  in  Tiflis,  porter,  chorister, 
and  eventually  became  a  pupil  of  Professor 
Oussotof  of  Tiflis,  who  gave  him  his  first  real 
lessons  in  singing.  These  led  to  such  good  re- 
sults that  he  was  engaged  at  the  opera  at  St. 
Petersburg.  Like  most  Russians  (apparently) 
he  has  been  imprisoned  on  suspicion  of  political 
intrigue  —  he  was  a  friend  of  Gorky. 

The  following  criticism  appeared  after  his 
performance  in  "  Mefistofele  ":  "  Chaliapine 
is  undoubtedly  an  artist  even  if  his  ideals  are 
not  praiseworthy.  His  physical  appearance 
ought  not  to  create  greater  admiration  than  his 
splendidly  rotund  voice  and  his  eloquent  decla- 
mation. His  interpretation  of  Mefistofele  was 


114  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

splendidly  picturesque,  but  did  not  please  the 
critics,  calling  to  mind  the  vulgarity  of  conduct 
which  his  fellow-countryman,  Gorky,  presents 
with  such  disgusting  frankness  in  his  stories  of 
Eussian  life.  When  he  appears  on  the  Brocken 
he  is  bestiality  incarnate. ' ' 

Another  account  of  him  is  more  complete: 
"  Chaliapine,  the  Eussian  basso,  is  a  man  of 
large  physical  presence :  his  voice  is  as  tremen- 
dous as  his  physical  aspect ;  at  one  moment  its 
suavity  caresses;  at  another  its  power  over- 
whelms; he  has  a  lively  histrionic  sense;  his 
notions  of  costume  are  pictorial,  not  to  say  ec- 
centric ;  on  and  off  the  stage  he  loves  the  roman- 
tic pose;  and  he  is  equally  impressive  in  parts 
as  different  as  Mefistofele  in  Boito's  like-named 
opera,  and  the  portentously  comic  Basilio  of  the 
*  Barber  of  Seville.'  Distinctly  he  makes  his 
audiences  *  sit  up  '  —  the  first  bass  singer  to 
accomplish  this  feat  in  America  in  many  a 
year. ' ' 

On  Conried's  retirement  Mr.  Henderson  re- 
viewed the  situation  in  an  article  published  in 
the  New  York  Sun.  "  The  taste  of  the  pub- 
lic to-day  is  far  below  that  of  the  public  which 
attended  the  performances  in  the  old  Academy 
of  Music  twenty-five  years  ago.  All  that  a 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      115 

singer  has  to  do  in  order  to  have  success  is 
to  sing  loud,  and  fast  or  high,  and  if  he  can  do 
two  of  these  at  once  he  is  great.  If  he  can  do 
all  he  is  greatest.  Kefinement  of  style,  perfect 
beauty  of  voice  from  top  to  bottom,  intelligence 
in  phrase  and  nuance,  acquaintance  with  correct 
method  of  delivering  the  music  of  any  partic- 
ular period  or  composer,  count  for  nearly  noth- 
ing. The  antics  of  Chaliapine,  the  enticing 
physical  industry  of  Geraldine  Farrar,  the  in- 
excusable slaughter  of  measures  of  Marguerite 
by  Mary  Garden,  are  applauded  as  much  as  the 
vocal  feats  of  Tetrazzini.  All  these  we  owe  to 
steady  and  persistent  debasement  of  public 
taste  by  downward  movements  of  standards  at 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House." 

This  view  was  perhaps  too  pessimistic,  and 
may  have  been  the  reason  for  Miss  Garden's 
opinion,  expressed  in  an  article  in  Every- 
body's Magazine  in  which  she  remarks  thus: 
"  Critics!  I  once  heard  a  critic  defined  as  a 
man  who  walks  at  the  head  of  the  procession 
crying,  '  Come  on!  '  But  I  rather  agree  with 
the  other  version,  that  a  critic  is  a  man  who 
walks  at  one  side  of  the  procession  crying 
*  Come  off!  '  Those  dear,  sweet,  well-meaning 
elderly  gentlemen,  called  critics,  who  don't  live 


116  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  us  to-day,  ought  to  be  put  tenderly  on  the 
shelf,  having  passed  the  age  limit,  just  as 
singers  pass  it.  Their  usefulness  is  over  when 
their  minds  and  hearts  refuse  to  work,  just  as 
a  singer's  usefulness  is  over  when  his  voice  re- 
fuses to  work.  Certain  of  them  .  .  .  greet  every 
attempt  to  do  something  new,  to  bring  a  fresh 
message  to  the  stage,  to  give  the  young  a  chance 
to  shake  up  the  old  routine  and  bounce  people 
out  of  their  ruts  into  the  broad  road  of  prog- 
ress, not  with  encouragement,  nor  with  toler- 
ance, but  with  scorn  and  jeers.  Put  them  on 
the  shelf,  I  say,  and  put  young  blood  in.  If 
America  is  striding  forward  into  a  new  appreci- 
ation of  opera,  and  an  appreciation  of  new 
opera,  it  isn't  the  old  fogies  who  are  the  leaders 
of  the  game.  The  leaders  are  the  young ;  leaders 
are  always  the  young.  These  old  fogy  critics 
with  their  stilted  and  stunted  ideas,  once  fought 
valiantly  for  Wagner,  against  the  old  fogies  of 
their  day.  Now  they  are  condemning  Eichard 
Strauss  and  Debussy  and  Keger.  It  is  time 
they  fell  back  and  young  critics  took  their 
places.  The  banner  of  artistic  progress  is  only 
to  be  borne  on  by  men  with  young  enthusiasms 
and  by  those  who  march  breast  forward.  No 
wonder  the  old  fogies  don't  see  whither  we  are 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      117 

going:  they  are  looking  backward!  "  Probably 
Miss  Garden  did  not  know  how  young  some  of 
the  critics  are,  nor  does  she  appear  to  have 
studied  the  individuality  of  style  and  vocabu- 
lary affected  by  some  of  them,  which  are  natur- 
ally of  more  importance  in  the  eye  of  the  critic, 
than  the  singer  or  the  opera.  There  is  a  large 
variety  of  critics. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Conried  became  the  subject 
of  critical  attack  was,  perhaps,  largely  due  to 
his  failing  health,  for  in  1906  he  was  obliged  to 
go  abroad.  On  his  return  in  1907  he  talked  of 
all  that  he  was  going  to  do,  but  he  was  never 
really  able  to  resume  his  active  control  of  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House.  His  resignation 
followed,  and  he  returned  to  Europe,  where  he 
died. 

When  Conried  took  up  the  management  of 
Grand  Opera  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House, 
there  were  a  great  many  reforms  which  he  pro- 
posed to  inaugurate.  Of  these  the  abolition  of 
the  "  Star  "  system  was  one.  He  would  have 
a  more  perfect  ensemble,  and  rely  less  upon  the 
one  great  singer.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
found  that  the  star  system,  or  something  of 
the  kind,  was  essential  to  success,  for  audiences 
would  not  get  together  to  hear  unknown  singers. 


118  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Gran  had  already  set  the  pace  with  his  "  all 
star  "  combinations,  arid  now  Conried  found 
that  the  only  way  to  secure  both  the  perfect  en- 
semble and  the  audience  was  by  having  a  com- 
plete oufit  of  stars.  He  tried  to  "  discipline  r 
his  singers,  and  while  many  people  will  agree 
that  this  was  perfectly  justifiable,  he  succeeded 
in  getting  rid  of  several  of  the  established  fa- 
vorites. Some  of  these  retired  permanently, 
others  went  into  opera  elsewhere,  and  some 
have  dallied  with  opera  at  intervals. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  career  he  was  less 
successful  in  pleasing  the  public.  He  met  with 
heavy  reverses  in  the  San  Francisco  earth- 
quake, for  his  company  was  in  that  city  at  the 
time  of  the  disaster.  In  December,  1906,  Mr. 
Conried  suffered  a  paralytic,  or  apoplectic 
shock.  A  Swiss  specialist  came  to  America  to 
take  charge  of  him,  and  for  a  long  time  his 
illness  remained  a  mystery  and  he  conducted 
the  affairs  of  the  opera  from  his  private  room. 
When  he  sailed  for  a  foreign  sanatorium  the 
question  of  a  successor  became  vital.  He  re- 
turned, however,  and  held  his  post  until  the 
spring  of  1908,  when  he  resigned  and  retired 
to  Meran  in  the  Austrian  Tyrol,  where  he  died 
in  April,  1909. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      119 

Many  anecdotes  are  told  of  Conried,  but  those 
which  are  of  most  interest  to  us,  are  those  deal- 
ing with  his  lack  of  musical  knowledge,  and 
with  his  dictatorial  manner.  On  one  occasion, 
we  are  told,  he  had  engaged  a  mezzo-soprano 
to  sing  the  part  of  the  first  Rhine-daughter,  in 
"  Rheingold."  Felix  Mottl  was  the  conductor, 
and  when  he  came  to  the  rehearsal  he  protested 
to  Conried.  Miss  X.  was  a  charming  lady  and 
an  excellent  singer,  but  her  voice  was  not  what 
is  wanted,  or  what  Wagner  wanted  for  that 
part.  "  Now  you  know  that,  Mottl,"  answered 
Conried,  "  and  so  did  Wagner  and  so  do  the 
singers;  but  does  the  public  know  that!  ' 

An  amusing  case  is  cited,  in  which  Conried 
was  right,  however,  about  a  lady  whom  he  had 
engaged  in  Germany  to  come  over  and  teach 
singing  in  his  opera  school,  as  he  called  it.  On 
board  the  steamer  she  fell  and  broke  an  arm. 
As  it  was  quite  impossible  for  her  to  play  the 
piano  in  order  to  accompany  her  pupils  she 
asked  Conried  to  provide  an  accompanist.  "  I 
engaged  you,  madame,"  he  said,  "  with  two 
arms,  and  when  you  arrived  here  with  one  only 
it  was  no  fault  of  mine."  So  the  lady  had  to 
pay  for  the  accompanist  herself. 

At  one  time  Conried  had   shown  his  least 


120  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pleasant  side  to  the  members  of  the  press,  and 
the  press  had  ceased  to  praise  inartistic  per- 
formances at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
long  before  the  Manhattan  Opera-House 
opened.  When  the  opening  of  the  latter  house 
was  greeted  with  a  loud  burst  of  approval  Mr. 
Conned  was  much  enraged.  Sending  for  the 
very  courteous  gentleman  who  was  then  his 
secretary  he  said,  "  You  see  now  how  I  have 
suffered  from  the  result  of  your  personal  un- 
popularity. This  would  never  have  happened 
if  the  gentlemen  of  the  press  did  not  dislike 
you  so  much."  He  dismissed  the  secretary, 
and  became  less  positive  with  the  press.  Ham- 
merstein's  success  was  especially  galling  to  him 
as  they  had  been  formerly  associated,  and  he 
felt  that  a  manager  who  had  achieved  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera-House  could  not  have  a  rival. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    MANHATTAN    OPERA  -  HOUSE    UNDER    OSCAB 
HAMMERSTEIN 

IN  1906  there  came  forth  from  the  ranks  of 
theatrical  managers  one,  Oscar  Hammerstein, 
who  announced  that  he  would  give  Grand 
Opera,  and  forthwith  built  a  house  for  that 
purpose,  without  any  directors,  trustees,  cor- 
porations and  other  impediments  to  efficiency 
which  are  associated  with  almost  every  large 
business  enterprise. 

Within  the  space  of  three  years  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein produced  more  new  works,  that  is  to 
say,  works  that  were  new  to  America,  than  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  had  brought  forth 
in  the  previous  ten  years,  during  which  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  had  been  under  the 
management  of  Abbey,  Schoeffel,  and  Grau ;  of 
Grau  alone,  and  of  Heinrich  Conried.  He 
stimulated  the  interest  in  opera  which  is  to-day 
greater  than  ever  before  and  which  is  spread- 
ing all  over  the  country.  To  a  great  extent  he 

121 


122  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

has  put  an  end  to  the  reign  of  "  the  Star,"  for, 
in  former  days,  the  singer  was  everything.  To- 
day a  new  production  generally  brings  a  well 
filled  house,  and  Grau's  old  saying,  that  to  in- 
sure a  comfortably  empty  house  he  had  only 
to  announce  a  new  opera  at  the  Metroplitan 
Opera-House,  no  longer  holds  good. 

Some  day,  when  the  biography  of  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein  is  written  or  when  he  publishes  his 
"  Eeminiscences,"  there  will  be  some  interest- 
ing reading.  Apparently  Hammerstein  was  al- 
ways getting  into  difficulties,  yet  his  difficulties 
seemed  to  help  business.  He  had  differences 
with  his  singers,  he  was  continually  bringing 
suit  against  somebody  or  having  suit  brought 
against  him,  but  nobody  ever  suffered  by  the 
process,  and  it  was  all  duly  announced  in  the 
papers,  that  is  to  say,  the  beginning  of  the  suit 
was  announced,  the  end  vanished  into  thin  air. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  was  born  in  Berlin  in 
1847.  He  ran  away  from  home  with  only  thirty 
dollars  in  his  pocket,  and  when  he  reached  New 
York  and  was  in  a  starving  condition  he  found 
a  sign  on  Pearl  Street,  "  Cigarmakers  wanted. 
Paid  while  you  learn."  He  applied  for  a  job 
and  got  it,  and  lived  a  year  on  eight  dollars  a 
week.  Meanwhile  he  wrote  articles  on  cigar- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       123 

making,  and  within  five  years  became  editor  of 
a  trade  publication.  He  invented  an  ingenious 
process  for  making  cigars,  and  patented  it. 
While  making  cigars  he  wrote  ' '  musical  atroci- 
ties," to  use  his  own  phraseology.  He  com- 
menced his  managerial  career  by  opening  a 
theatre  in  Harlem,  called  the  Harlem  Opera- 
House,  which  has  for  some  time  been  used  for 
moving  pictures.  In  this  establishment  his 
artistic  taste  was  plentifully  illustrated,  and  a 
long  season  of  light  opera,  under  Heinrich  Con- 
ried,  was  given  at  great  financial  loss. 

He  then  built  another  theatre  at  125th  Street 
and  Fourth  Avenue,  and  called  it  the  Columbus 
Theatre.  It  has  since  been  used  for  vaudeville. 

Then  followed  the  first  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  on  West  34th  Street,  where  Macy  's  store 
now  stands.  Here  he  made  great  efforts,  far 
ahead  of  the  times,  to  inaugurate  his  operatic 
career.  Grand  Opera  well  given,  met  with  great 
losses,  but  the  financial  tide  was  turned  when 
Bial  took  the  house  and  turned  it  into  a  variety 
theatre,  with  such  stars  as  Yvette  Guilbert, 
Dan  Leno,  Albert  Chevalier,  Loie  Fuller,  etc. 

Following  this  came  the  Olympia  at  Long 
Acre  Square,  which  established  a  new  theatre 
district.  Losses  were  sustained  here  also,  and 


124  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Hammerstein  one  day  walked  out  dispossessed 
and  as  poor  as  when  he  began.  Even  a  bene- 
fit arranged  by  his  friends  turned  out  a  loss, 
and  every  one  supposed  that  Oscar  Hammer- 
stein  was  ruined. 

Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  secured  some 
land  at  42nd  Street  and  7th  Avenue,  and  built  a 
theatre,  creating  again  a  new  theatre  district 
and  owning  what  was  called  a  Broadway 
Theatre  for  a  Seventh  Avenue  rental. 

He  then  built  the  Hackett  Theatre  and  the 
Belasco  Theatre.  His  enterprise  in  the  new 
Manhattan  Opera-House  is  referred  to  else- 
where, but  after  he  had  abandoned  thi«  greatest 
undertaking,  he  went  abroad  and  built  a  magni- 
ficent Opera-House  in  London,  where  he  gave 
brilliant  performances  during  the  season  of 
1911-1912. 

It  has  been  said  of  him  that  no  man  is  so 
loved  by  his  employees,  and  no  impresario 
brought  forth  by  the  last  generation  has  so 
mastered  the  intricate  and  difficult  mazes  of 
operatic  direction.  Rarely,  if  ever,  is  there  an 
illness  recorded  at  a  Hammerstein  representa- 
tion, and  never  a  change  of  opera.  He  thrives 
on  worries  that  killed  others. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  announced  his  first  sea- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       125 

son  of  Grand  Opera  on  April  30,  1906.  "  I 
have  set  in  motion,"  he  said,  "  the  great  and 
intricate  machinery  for  founding  such  gigantic 
and  noble  purposes."  Grand  Opera  would  be 
nothing  without  superlatives. 

His  company  included  the  following  singers : 
Soprani,  —  Madame  Melba,  Madame  Gilibert- 
LeJeune,  Madame  Mazarin,  Kate  D'Arta,  Ma- 
dame Farnetti,  and  Luisa  Tetrazzini.  Mezzi,— 
Madame  Bressler-Gianoli,  and  Madame  Gay. 
Contralti,  —  Madame  de  Cisneros,  and  Ma- 
dame Zaccari.  Tenori,  —  Bonci,  Bassi,  Dai- 
mores,  Altschevsky.  Baritoni,  -  -  Maurice  Re- 
naud,  Sammarco,  Ancona,  Mendolfi.  Bassi,  - 
Edouard  de  Reszke,  Braz  and  Maglinez.  Buffi, 
Gilibert  and  Giandi. 

Of  Madame  Melba  much  has  been  said  in  a 
former  book.  She  has  continued  her  wonderful 
career,  but  of  late  years  has  appeared  more 
frequently  as  a  concert  than  an  opera  singer. 

At  the  end  of  the  season  of  1906-1907  a  sum- 
mary of  the  new  singers  of  the  season  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Musician,  which  is,  with  permis- 
sion, reproduced  here.  Some  of  the  singers 
have  remained  and  built  up  great  reputations, 
others  have  faded  from  the  American  opera- 
goer's  vision,  but  the  review  is  interesting  a§ 


126  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

showing  the  impression  made  by  the  singers 
during  their  first  season. 

"  Bonci  has  been  hailed  as  a  rival  of  Caruso, 
—  not  merely  in  the  advertisements  of  his  man- 
ager, —  and  it  is  maintained  by  many  of  his 
countrymen  that  he  is  the  greater  tenor  of  the 
two.  But  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the 
musically  sophisticated  can  make  any  such 
claim.  Bonci,  although  possessed  of  some  right 
musical  feeling,  sings  with  a  perpetual  tremolo 
and  with  a  dry,  nasal  and  far  from  luscious 
tone;  while  Caruso's  voice,  however  ill-advised 
his  manner  of  using  it,  is  the  very  embodiment 
of  Italian  sunshine.  The  explanation  of  Bonci 's 
Italian  popularity  may  lie  in  the  tendency  of 
his  countrymen  to  look  coldly  upon  those  of 
their  artists  who  accept  the  tempting  dollars 
of  foreign  countries,  and  are,  consequently,  less 
heard  in  Italy. 

11  Regina  Pinkert,  a  Polish  coloratura  singer 
of  European  reputation,  was  more  in  the  public 
eye  —  or  perhaps  one  should  say  ear  —  than 
the  other  new  singers  at  the  Manhattan.  She 
proved  to  be  a  thoroughly  accustomed  routine 
artist,  capable  of  a  well  trained  vocal  agility, 
but  suffers,  like  Bonci,  though  in  a  less  degree, 
from  the  tremolo, 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       127 

"  Pauline  Donalda,  a  young  Canadian  singer 
who  sang  at  Covent  Garden,  was,  on  the  whole, 
the  most  pleasing  of  the  new  sopranos  of  the 
Manhattan  Company.  Her  voice  is  light,  fresh 
and  agreeable,  having,  in  certain  tones,  some- 
thing of  the  quality  of  Sembrich's.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  tight,  incorrectly  produced 
tones,  her  organ  is  excellently  trained. 

"  Two  other  Manhattan  singers  are  Miss 
Kuss  and  Kegina  Arta.  R.  Arta  is  an  Ameri- 
can who  is  said  to  have  sung  with  success 
abroad.  Neither  of  them  were  singers  whose 
art  or  natural  endowment  call  for  admiring 
comment. 

"  Madame  Bressler-Gianoli,  a  French  singer 
who  appeared  here  a  few  years  ago  in  the  short- 
lived venture  of  a  New  Orleans  company,  made 
a  success  at  the  Manhattan.  It  was  a  success, 
however,  rather  of  the  theatre  than  of  the 
Opera-House,  for  neither  her  voice  nor  her 
vocal  art  was  of  the  first  class. 

"  Eleanor  de  Cisneros,  another  American 
girl,  seems  to  have  lost  what  voice  she  had, 
when,  as  Eleanor  Broadf  oot,  she  sang  here  with 
the  Savage  company  six  years  ago,  in  spite  of 
which  fact  she  is  said  to  have  won  laurels  in 
Europe. 


128  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

11  Dalmores  has  a  young  strong  voice  but  is 
hardly  yet  a  singer  of  distinction.  M.  Altschev- 
sky  sang  with  a  large  quantity  of  badly  pro- 
duced sound  with  dramatic  intent.  His  method 
is  hopelessly  faulty.  M.  Renaud  is  an  artist, 
though  his  voice  during  his  short  engagement 
here  seemed  to  have  lost  much  of  its  original 
beauty.  Sammarco,  a  young  baritone  new  to 
America  this  season,  has  a  fine  voice.  Signor 
Arimondi  (bass)  is  also  a  worthy  artist.  In 
spite  of  the  pleasing  qualities  of  some  of  the 
recruits  to  the  ranks  of  the  opera  singers  this 
season,  we  have  heard  no  one  who  can  in  any 
way  impair  the  lustre  of  such  names  as  Melba, 
Sembrich,  Gadski,  Eames,  and  Schumann- 
Heink,  or  dim  our  memories  of  Jean  de  Reszke, 
Lilli  Lehmann  and  Ternina,  in  their  prime. ' ' 

Luisa  Tetrazzini,  announced  by  Hammerstein, 
is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  coloratura  soprano 
of  to-day.  An  excellent  account  of  her  and  her 
art  was  written  by  Mr.  Pitt  Sanborn  and  pub- 
lished in  several  papers,  in  1912: 

"  The  true  history  of  a  '  diva,'  could  it  ever 
be  written,  would  make  curious  and  engrossing 
reading.  By  *  diva  '  we  do  not  mean  any  woman 
that  has  distinguished  herself  as  a  singer, 
but  those  goddesses  of  song  who  have  been  a 


LUISA    TETRAZZINI 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       129 

caste  apart  since  the  days  when  Faustina  and 
Cuzzoni  made  life  miserable  for  the  great  Han- 
del in  London.  The  '  divas  '  are  fewer  than  they 
used  to  be,  the  art  of  song  has  fallen  on  evil 
days,  but  one  we  have  now,  and  we  doubt 
whether  any  of  the  glorious  line  is  more  mys- 
terious than  Luisa  Tetrazzini. 

"  A  mystery  Madame  Tetrazzini  is,  and  she 
will  probably  remain  such.  Nevertheless,  a  good 
deal  has  been  written  about  her  in  this  country, 
a  good  deal  which  has  ignored  even  the  facts 
that  are  obtainable,  and  much  of  it  not  without 
the  suspicion  of  more  or  less  prejudice.  Ma- 
dame Tetrazzini  is  not  '  chic, '  she  is  not  a  fash- 
ionable prima  donna.  Whether  she  is  an  intelli- 
gent and  reflective  artist,  or  whether  she  is  just 
an  imbecile  singing  by  the  grace  of  God  alone,  or 
what  she  is,  those  that  write  most  about  her  are 
not  in  a  position  to  know  positively,  for  she  is 
an  Italian,  and  operatic  Italians,  with  rare  ex- 
ceptions, are  about  as  available  for  purposes 
of  psychological  observation  as  a  skylark  sing- 
ing in  high  heaven.  It  has  been  necessary  to 
study  her  art  across  the  footlights. 

"  Luisa  Tetrazzini  has  been  quoted  as  saying 
that  she  taught  herself  to  sing.  Her  voice  and 
her  trill  she  had  from  God,  and  she  listened  to 


130  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

her  oldest  sister,  Eva  (now  Mrs.  Cleofonte  Cam- 
panini).  A  few  months  of  repertory  (and  her 
repertory  is  not  the  ten  or  the  dozen  parts  she 
has  sung  in  New  York  and  London,  but  some 
thirty  or  forty),  completed  her  preliminary 
studies.  Such  training  is  a  contrast  to  the 
seven  laborious  years  of  the  great  tradition, 
and  might  account  for  the  crudities  in  her  sing- 
ing, which  were  most  evident  the  first  night  she 
sang  here,  and  which  have  been  harped  on  ever 
since,  but  does  it  account  for  her  perfect  attack, 
her  wonderful  control  of  breath,  her  clean  exe- 
cution of  ornaments,  her  exquisite  portamento, 
her  proficiency  in  sustained  singing,  especially 
her  ability  to  phrase  with  the  roundness  and  in- 
comparable grace  of  the  pure  old  Italian  style? 
Who  shall  ever  know  this? 

"  Back  in  the  nineties  Tetrazzini  appeared  in 
Italy  with  success  and  was  then  heard  in  some 
of  the  Italian  seasons  at  St.  Petersburg.  Those 
Italian  seasons  in  coldest  Russia  have  had  dis- 
tinguishing features.  Singers  like  Sembrich 
and  Battistini  were  members  of  the  company; 
Caruso  also,  singing  for  the  first  time  his  robust 
roles.  Luisa  Tetrazzini  was  then  regarded  as 
a  highly  promising  young  florid  soprano,  and 
she  had  a  chance  at  the  Gildas  and  Lucias  when 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       131 

Sembrich  did  not  sing.  When  Sembrich  did  she 
sometimes  appeared  with  her,  as  Donna  Elvira 
to  her  Zerlina,  as  Filina  to  her  Mignon.  She 
is  a  pretty  woman  still,  but  then  she  was  also 
slim,  and  nature  made  her  a  comedian.  So 
when  St.  Petersburg  first  saw  '  La  Boheme  ' 
she,  as  a  matter  of  course,  *  created  '  Musetta, 
and  how  gloriously  she  must  have  sung  the 
waltz.  Then  one  fine  day  the  young  Italian 
singer  took  French  leave  and  flitted  off  to  Span- 
ish America.  She  was  successful  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  but  she  vanished  from  that  great  city. 
The  legend  has  it  obscure  hill  towns  heard  her. 
She  turned  up  again  in  Buenos  Ayres,  but  at 
a  minor  theatre.  Again  the  veil.  Then 
one  of  those  wandering  Italian  companies 
with  pompous  names  that  work  up  the  long 
Pacific  Coast  found  itself  in  San  Francisco,  and 
Tetrazzini  was  the  star.  San  Franciscans  ac- 
claimed her  a  second  Patti.  This  was  before 
the  earthquake  had  shaken  them  into  New  York 
and  carried  her  fame  to  the  East. 

"  Conried  took  note  and  placed  her  name  on 
his  list  for  the  Metropolitan  season  of  1905-1906. 
It  was  said  she  would  sing  the  page  in  '  The 
Masked  Ball.'  But  she  did  not,  nor  anything 
else.  San  Francisco  suffered  earthquake  and 


132  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

fire  and  Oscar  Hammerstein  once  more  deter- 
mined to  become  an  impresario.  He  announced 
Tetrazzini  for  his  first  Manhattan  season. 
Again  she  came  not.  Some  said  the  mountains 
of  Mexico  this  time.  In  the  autumn  of  1907  she 
suddenly  emerged  at  Covent  Garden,  and  peo- 
ple that  walked  in  darkest  London  saw  a  great 
light.  Oscar  Hammerstein  lost  no  time.  First 
he  engaged  her  for  the  next  season,  then  he  de- 
cided he  must  have  her  at  once,  and  he  did. 
Despite  the  Conried  threats  of  a  previous  con- 
tract she  faced  a  New  York  audience  on  the 
Manhattan  stage  early  the  following  January, 
and  the  rest  is  plain  sailing. 

*  *  What  Tetrazzini  was  in  Russia,  what  befell 
her  in  the  South  American  hill  towns,  what  in 
the  jungles  of  Mexico,  it  is  impossible  for  the 
present  writer  to  say.  Whether  she  had  only 
high  notes  in  Russia,  whether  the  hill  dwellers 
can  only  hear  above  the  staff  he  knoweth  not. 
But  certain  it  is  when  she  first  sang  at  the  Man- 
hattan she  was  chiefly  admirable  for  her  extra- 
ordinary upper  octave.  In  it  the  tones  were 
perfectly  produced,  strong,  pure,  dazzling  in 
their  flame-like  play  of  color.  When  she  sang  a 
thing  like  the  '  Carnival  of  Venice  '  variations, 
her  staccati,  her  chromatic  runs,  her  echo 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       133 

effects,  her  swelling  and  diminishing  of  a 
tone,  the  ravishing  curve  of  her  portamento 
showed  a  vocal  virtuoso  in  that  exalted  re- 
gion without  a  peer.  The  feats  of  Sembrich 
and  Melba  paled  in  comparison.  But  those 
inexplicable  crudities  and  inequalities!  A 
woman  who  in  '  La  Traviata  '  had  just  sung 
'  Ah!  fors'  e  lui  '  surpassingly  well  could  de- 
claim '  Dite  alia  giovine  '  in  a  choked,  metal- 
lic parlando  that  would  not  be  tolerated  in  any 
respectable  vocal  studio.  Some  of  the  sounds 
she  emitted  in  the  lower  portion  of  her  voice 
were  like  nothing  but  the  clicks  of  an  old-fash- 
ioned talking  machine  before  those  devices  had 
been  perfected.  However,  Tetrazzini  never 
sang  here  so  badly  as  that  first  night. 

"  When  she  returned  the  next  season  the 
crudities  had  largely  disappeared,  and  her  me- 
dium register,  previously  deficient,  she  had  re- 
covered or  developed.  The  return  to  vocal  civ- 
ilization, singing  in  London  and  New  York  un- 
der the  guidance  of  Campanini  and  in  competi- 
tion with  such  singers  as  Melba  and  Sembrich, 
were  doing  their  work.  But  the  apotheosis  of 
Tetrazzini  came  last  spring  when,  after  a  year's 
absence,  she  returned  here  to  sing  in  concert. 
Then  the  voice  was  almost  perfectly  equalized, 


134  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

a  glorious  organ  from  top  to  bottom.  Even  in 
the  lowest  register  she  was  ready  with  a  firm, 
rich  tone,  as  in  '  Voi  che  sapete.'  She  not 
only  sang  great  florid  arias  with  perfect  com- 
mand of  voice,  technique  and  style;  she  sang 
Aida's  *  Ritorna  vincitor  '  as  scarcely  a  dra- 
matic soprano  has  sung  it  here;  she  sang  Sol- 
vejg's  song  from  '  Peer  Gynt  '  like  a  true 
Lieder  singer,  and  the  page's  song  from 
*  Figaro  '  she  sang  with  an  adorable  and  Mo- 
zartean  simplicity.  It  was  an  astonishing  and 
enchanting  display  of  great  soprano  singing  in 
every  style,  and  the  most  wonderful  display  of 
sheer  vocal  virtuosity  New  York  can  have 
heard  since  the  prime  of  Adelina  Patti. 

"  Of  course,  when  Tetrazzini  came  here,  she 
provoked  comparison  at  once  with  her  seniors, 
Sembrich  and  Melba,  the  two  great  coloratura 
sopranos  that  have  given  the  generation  of 
New  Yorkers  that  knew  not  Patti  its  standards. 
Melba  is  familiar  to  most  local  opera-goers  since 
her  debut  here  in  1893 ;  Sembrich,  since  her  re- 
turn after  an  absence  of  many  years  in  1897. 
Sembrich,  the  younger  singer,  who  appeared 
here  in  the  early  eighties,  must  be  left  out  of 
consideration.  Melba  had  the  evenest  soprano 
voice  throughout  its  liberal  range  that  has  been 


The  Manhattan  Opera- House       135 

heard  here  in  our  time.  Her  singing  has  always 
been  called  cold  and  with  reason.  The  voice 
itself  was  full  and  rich,  its  flexibility  extraor- 
dinary, her  vocal  utterance  incomparably  spon- 
taneous and  easy.  And  there  is  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  Melba  has  not  lacked  temperament, 
but  she  never  related  it  to  her  singing.  That 
was  a  business  which  she  discharged  in  a  work- 
manlike manner,  without  enthusiasm,  at  the 
least  cost  to  herself.  At  her  best,  there  was  a 
certain  insolence  in  the  easy  way  she  spun  her 
cantilena,  a  disdain  as  she  tossed  off  fioriture, 
but  she  never  sang  them  as  if  they  meant  any- 
thing to  her  or  had  anything  in  particular  to  do 
with  musical  expression.  Her  phenomenal  trill 
was  just  a  trill,  her  scale  of  matched  pearls  just 
a  scale.  In  their  way  they  were  perfectly  beau- 
tiful, but  it  was  the  beauty  of  faultless  machine 
work. 

* '  This  singing  never  fell  below  a  high  level, 
but  it  never  rose  from  the  astonishing  to  the 
transporting.  There  was  a  lack  of  complete- 
ness in  Melba 's  singing  —  crudity  is  hardly  the 
word  for  anything  in  a  way  so  finished;  she 
made  little  use  of  her  great  vocal  means.  She 
could  sing  in  a  wonderful  full  voice  and  in  a 
wonderful  half  voice,  but  who  ever  heard  her 


136  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pass  from  one  to  the  other  with  the  exquisite 
swelling  or  diminishing  of  tone  that  carries 
you  away  when  Tetrazzini  sings  I  One  might 
stretch  a  point  and  say  in  her  famous  crescendo 
trill,  but  nowhere  else.  Her  use  of  portamento 
was  so  sparing  that  her  phrases  generally 
seemed  cut  in  lengths,  not  deliciously  rounded 
and  poised  as  by  Sembrich  and  Tetrazzini. 
Any  one  who  recalls  her  treatment  of  the  word 
'  Salce  '  in  the  *  Willow  Song  '  in  Verdi's 
'  Otello  '  knows  just  where  she  fell  short.  She 
had  the  technique  for  great  Italian  singing,  but 
never  quite  the  style,  quite  the  feeling.  How 
cold  her  '  Caro  Nome  '  left  an  audience  that 
was  worked  up  to  cheers  by  Tetrazzini 's ! 

4 '  Melba  sang  accurately  and  with  the  dignity 
of  good  workmanship.  Her  singing  was  stereo- 
typed, without  the  excitement  of  the  unex- 
pected, the  suddenly  improvised,  the  inspiration 
of  the  heat  and  joy  of  song.  Sometimes,  as 
Tetrazzini 's  harshest  critics  insist,  that  so- 
prano injures  the  music  by  the  variation  she 
introduces ;  of tener  she  lifts  it  above  the  clouds. 
This  sort  of  thing  was  inherent  in  the  great 
Italian  style  as  in  the  Italian  temperament. 
Melba  had  neither.  Melba 's  style  was 
rather  mid-century  French,  the  style  of 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       137 

'  Faust  '  and  '  Romeo  et  Juliette,'  than  that 
of  the  older  Italian  roles,  though  in  many  re- 
spects she  sang  those  roles  so  well  and  so  de- 
lightfully. 

"  That  art  of  Italian  phrasing  Sembrich  pos- 
sessed in  its  perfection.  She  was  one  of  the 
singers  who,  as  a  certain  musician  of  obviously 
Teutonic  leanings  once  said  of  Marietta  Al- 
boni,  could  *  by  beauty  of  tone,  perfect  vocal- 
ization and  grace  of  phrasing  make  a  divine 
poem  out  of  a  phrase  absolutely  dripping  with 
idiocy.'  But  beautiful  as  her  voice  was,  it  was 
not  quite  a  voice  of  the  first  order  like  the 
voice  of  Melba  and  Tetrazzini,  and  it  was  not 
physically  capable  of  some  of  the  coloratura 
feats  theirs  lent  themselves  to,  at  least  since 
her  return  here  in  1897.  One  must  admit  that 
there  are  and  there  have  been  greater  colora- 
tura singers  than  Marcella  Sembrich.  Her  al- 
most unique  musicianship,  her  intelligent  versa- 
tility, which  made  her  at  home  in  all  styles  of 
music  except  only  the  heavy  dramatic,  forbid- 
den her  by  the  lightness  of  her  voice;  the  pre- 
vailing evenness  of  her  singing,  its  warmth,  its 
inspiration,  made  her  for  decades  a  singer 
peculiarly  precious  to  all  who  love  real  singing, 
whether  in  the  opera-house  or  the  concert  hall. 


138  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

'  *  In  the  delivery  of  the  older  Italian  cantilena 
Sembrich  has  been  equalled  in  our  day 
only  by  a  very  few  singers,  like  Battistini, 
Bonci  and  Tetrazzini  at  her  best.  She  was  also 
a  singer  of  brilliant  bravura,  as  one  who  buckled 
on  the  armor  of  song  and  went  forth  joyously 
to  the  fray  with  sunlight  glinting  from  every 
facet  of  her  panoply.  But  in  the  exquisiteness 
that  is  still  a  master  quality  of  her  sustained 
singing,  her  coloratura  lacked  something.  Tet- 
razzini, to  all  her  brilliance,  adds  that  exquisite- 
ness,  that  ease  and  delicacy.  Nor  had  Sem- 
brich a  trill  to  compare  with  the  trills  of  Melba 
and  Tetrazzini,  and  now  and  again,  in  '  The 
Magic  Flute  '  and  '  Lakme,'  for  instance,  she 
essayed  here  feats  that  only  a  perfectly  fresh 
voice  like  Tetrazzini 's,  with  an  unworn  high 
staccato,  can  undertake  with  safety. 

"  One  is  forced  to  conclude  from  some  things 
that  Tetrazzini  has  done  during  her  pres- 
ent engagement  at  the  Metropolitan,  that  there 
are  still  times  when  affected  by  nervousness  or 
indisposition  she  allows  some  of  the  old  crudi- 
ties to  crop  out  in  her  singing.  By  seizing  on 
such  moments  and  ruthlessly  applying  the  mi- 
croscope one  can  concoct  a  veritable  Jeremiad 
about  her.  Yet  nine  times  out  of  ten  her  sing- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       139 

ing  is  not  only  flawless,  but  so  transporting  in 
its  warmth  and  beauty,  that  you  forget  the  art 
of  it  in  sheer  delight.  Her  proficiency  in  colora- 
tura is  generally  recognized,  the  largeness  and 
purity  of  her  high  staccato,  her  extraordinary 
command  of  the  trill,  her  wonderful  chromatic 
runs,  her  knowledge  of  tradition  and  taste  in 
ornamentation.  But  she  is  no  less  great  as  a 
singer  of  sustained  song.  '  It  was  not  her 
coloratura  that  I  admired  the  most,'  said  Vic- 
tor Maurel  after  he  heard  her  first,  '  but  her 
singing  of  some  of  the  andantes.'  Perfectly 
placed  tones,  the  Italian  roundness  and  grace 
of  phrase  (which  she  shares  with  Sembrich  in 
contradistinction  to  Melba),  a  warm,  vital, 
spontaneous  delivery  give  her  cantilena  its 
magic.  She  has  been  charged  with  a  tremolo. 
If  she  is  guilty,  we  fear  Sembrich  must  be  held 
guilty  too,  and  what  shall  be  said  of  Gadski, 
Bonci,  Clement,  Amato,  not  to  mention  Renaud 
and  Elena  Gerhardtf 

"  Some  dear  people  are  shocked  to  death  be- 
cause her  costuming  is  a  thing  sui  generis. 
Often  her  inspirations  in  that  respect  are  more 
amusing  than  the  *  chic  '  creations  of  a  Pa- 
quin.  You  don't  see  every  singer  with  the  sem- 
blance of  a  peacock  stretched  from  her  throat 


140  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

to  the  tip  of  her  train,  or  arrayed  in  the  fauna 
and  flora  of  the  vasty  deep.  Many  a  woman  ir- 
reproachably gowned,  who  sings  like  a  peacock, 
might  look  to  the  clam  and  be  wise.  Tetrazzini 
has  tripped  out  on  the  stage  dispensing  smiles 
and  kisses  like  an  overgrown  soubrette,  and 
then  she  has  begun  to  sing:  a  dignity  has  in- 
sensibly molded  her  features,  suffused  her 
whole  being,  as  if  the  god  of  song  were  finding 
utterance  through  her.  Nor  is  it  any  part  of 
the  listener's  enjoyment  whether  her  singing 
is  the  result  of  the  painful  labor  of  years  or 
whether  she  happened  upon  it  like  Keats  on 
his  poetry,  Schubert  on  his  music.  Only  Sem- 
brich  and  Melba  in  our  day  have  been  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  her,  and  in  some  respects 
she  is  a  greater  singer  than  Sembrich,  in  some 
not,  but  in  all,  save  sheer  voice,  a  greater  than 
Melba.  One  can  afford  to  forget  the  quibbles 
and  just  be  thankful  that  the  Metropolitan 
stage,  in  days  when  real  singing  is  all  too  sel- 
dom heard,  boasts,  if  but  for  a  few  perform- 
ances, one  woman  still  in  the  prime  of  her  voice 
who  can  sing  like  a  vicar  of  song  on  earth." 

When  Tetrazzini  appeared  in  Boston  in 
March,  1909,  the  following  criticism  of  her  ap- 
peared in  the  Herald:  "  When  she  rises  to  her 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       141 

greatest  heights,  either  in  sustained  medodic 
phrases  or  in  florid  passages,  her  voice  is  her 
own,  unlike  other  voices,  and  in  some  respects 
incomparable.  Her  tonal  emission  is  delight- 
fully free  and  spontaneous.  Her  phrasing  is 
now  and  then  chopped  by  a  desire  to  take  this 
or  that  long  passage  in  one  breath.  Her  upper 
notes  are  uncommonly  brilliant,  and  at  the  same 
time  liquid,  for  her  brilliancy  is  never  metallic. 
Her  scales  are  unusually  even,  while  her  trill  is 
not  always  of  uniform  excellence.  She  excels 
in  the  ease  and  abandon  of  her  bravura,  in  her 
ability  to  swell  and  diminish  a  tone  and  then 
connect  it  with  the  first  one  of  a  new  phrase, 
and  in  many  other  technical  matters.  What- 
ever she  does  is  as  though  in  a  joyous  mood." 

In  San  Francisco,  which  city  claims  the 
honor  of  having  "  discovered  "  Tetrazzini,  she 
has  recently  sung  in  an  open  air  concert  before 
many  thousands  of  admiring  auditors.  She 
received  a  great  ovation.  Madame  Tetrazzini 
is  in  private  life  Madame  Bazelli. 

Madame  Regina  Pinkert  began  her  American 
career  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  on  the 
first  night  of  the  season  of  1906-1907,  with  com- 
paratively little  "  advance  notice."  Madame 
Pinkert  is  a  native  of  Warsaw,  and  grew  up 


142  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  no  intention  of  taking  to  the  operatic  stage. 
Her  mother  was  fond  of  music  but  did  every- 
thing in  her  power  to  keep  from  her  daughter 's 
mind  the  idea  of  a  professional  career. 

Thus  the  young  girl  was  allowed  to  study 
only  piano  at  the  Warsaw  Conservatory,  and 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  she  was  ready  for  gradua- 
tion. The  professors,  however,  objected  to 
awarding  the  diploma  to  any  one  so  young,  and 
they  insisted  on  her  remaining  another  year. 
During  this  year  one  of  the  professors  tried 
her  voice  and  pronounced  it  excellent,  so  he 
advised  her  to  take  singing  during  her  last 
season  at  the  conservatory.  She  did  so,  and  in 
due  time  received  her  diploma  as  a  pianist,  and 
a  gold  medal,  but,  in  the  meantime,  had  become 
so  interested  in  her  vocal  studies  that  she  now 
made  singing  her  chief  study.  In  a  short  time 
she  went  to  Berlin  and  placed  herself  under 
Madame  Desiree  Artot.  She  made  her  debut 
at  La  Scala  in  the  "  Barber  of  Seville,"  and 
remained  there  for  several  seasons.  She  sang 
all  over  Europe  and  made  several  professional 
trips  to  South  America,  besides  which  she  sang 
three  seasons  at  Covent  Garden  before  coming 
to  America. 

Madame  Pinkert  is  of  medium  height  with 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       143 

dark  eyes,  black  hair,  clear  pale  complexion. 
She  is  graceful  on  the  stage  and  is  full  of  ani- 
mation. Some  critics  have  said  that  she  resem- 
bles Patti.  Her  voice  blended  well  with  that 
of  Bonci,  with  whom  she  sang  in  several 
operas. 

Pauline  Donalda's  father  was  a  Russian,  her 
mother  a  Pole.  He  translated  his  name  of  Lich- 
tenstein  into  Lightstone  and  became  a  natural- 
ized British  subject.  His  daughter  was  born 
in  Montreal  where  she  attended  English 
schools,  finishing  at  McGill  University.  Con- 
nected with  McGill  is  the  Royal  Victoria  Col- 
lege of  Music,  which  was  given  to  the  Uni- 
versity by  Lord  Strathcona  when  he  was  Sir 
Donald  Smith.  The  girls  who  attend  this  school 
are  called  "  Donaldas  '  in  honor  of  the 
founder,  and  this  accounts  for  the  stage  name 
of  Pauline  Lightstone. 

After  completing  her  studies  at  Montreal 
Miss  Donalda  went  to  new  York  and  sang  for 
Salignac  and  for  Dufriche,  who  were  then  at 
the  Metropolitan.  They  urged  her  to  go 
abroad,  and  she  went  to  Paris  where  she 
studied  for  two  years  with  Duvernoy,  at  the 
same  time  taking  lessons  in  acting  with  Lherie. 
She  made  her  debut  at  Nice  in  "  Manon," 


144  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  she  is  noted  for  her  perfect  French  dic- 
tion. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  in  telling  of  the  super- 
stitions and  oddities  of  his  singers,  said  that 
Pauline  Donalda  never  went  on  the  stage  with- 
out tearing  a  button  off  her  clothes,  for  luck. 
Tetrazzini's  idea  was  to  drop  a  dagger  on  to 
the  stage  three  times.  If  it  stuck  upright  it 
was  a  good  omen,  and  she  would  sing  well.  But 
if  not  she  would  be  disturbed  and  anxious  all 
through  the  opera. 

Madame  Bressler-Gianoli  was  a  native  of  Ge- 
neva. She  was  educated  at  the  Paris  Conserva- 
tory and  made  her  operatic  debut  in  her  native 
city  at  the  age  of  nineteen  in  "  Samson  et  Da- 
lila."  She  sang  in  "  Carmen  "  for  the  first 
time  in  1895  and  appeared  occasionally  in  a 
Wagnerian  role.  In  1900  she  was  engaged  at 
the  Paris  Opera  Comique. 

Madame  Gianoli  first  came  to  America  in  1903 
singing  Carmen  and  other  roles  with  the  New 
Orleans  Opera  Company.  This  company  visited 
New  York,  but  had  no  success  and  became 
stranded.  Mme.  Bressler-Gianoli  sang  scenes 
from  "  Orfeo  "  at  a  benefit  performance  for 
the  company  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House. 
She  did  not  return  to  America  until  Oscar  Ham- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       145 

merstein  engaged  her  for  his  first  season,  1906- 
1907,  at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House.  She 
made  a  sensational  triumph  as  Carmen  and  her 
initial  appearance  in  that  role,  on  December 
14,  1906,  gave  Mr.  Hammerstein  the  first 
feather  in  his  operatic  cap.  Her  performances 
of  this  role  were  always  distinguished  by  great 
dramatic  as  well  as  musical  effectiveness  and 
strong  individuality.  She  was  singing  it  on 
one  occasion  at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House 
when  she  was  wounded  by  Charles  Dalmores, 
the  Don  Jose,  the  accident  resulting  from  Mme. 
Gianoli's  near-sightedness  by  which  she  was 
long  troubled. 

Mme.  Bressler-Gianoli  returned  to  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  for  Mr.  Hammerstein 's 
second  season,  but  aside  from  Carmen  sang  no 
important  roles.  Thereafter  she  returned  to 
Geneva  and  remained  until  Andreas  Dippel 
engaged  her  for  the  Metropolitan  Company 
in  1910.  She  was  not  satisfied  with  the  parts 
to  which  she  was  assigned  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House,  however,  and  returned  to  Eu- 
rope, singing  at  La  Scala,  Milan,  in  "  Carmen," 
"  Samson  et  Dalila  "  and  "  La  Favorita  "  and 
appearing  also  in  other  cities.  Failing  eye- 
sight forced  her  to  relinquish  her  work  and, 


146  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

incidentally,  to  decline  another  offer  from  Mr. 
Dippel. 

Mme.  Bressler-Gianoli  died  at  Geneva  in 
May,  1912,  after  an  operation  for  appendicitis. 
She  had  been  engaged  to  return  to  opera  in 
America  in  the  season  of  1913.  She  was  sur- 
vived by  several  children. 

During  the  Grau  regime  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  Madame  Murio  Celli  secured  an 
engagement  for  her  pupil,  Eleanor  Broadfoot, 
who  had  just  returned  from  her  first  operatic 
venture,  a  month's  tour  of  Mexico.  Miss 
Broadfoot  was  to  appear  in  small  roles,  but 
during  the  engagement  she  had  an  unexpected 
opportunity  to  show  what  she  could  do  with 
larger  parts.  "  II  Trovatore  "  was  to  be  given 
in  Philadelphia,  with  Madame  Eames  as  Leo- 
nora. All  the  regular  contraltos  of  the  com- 
pany were  either  ill  or  overworked.  Miss 
Broadfoot  was  asked  to  sing,  and  was  hurried 
on  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  There  was 
no  time  for  rehearsal,  but  she  succeded  so  well 
that  Mr.  Grau  complimented  her. 

After  two  seasons  with  the  Metropolitan 
Company  she  went  abroad  to  Italy,  to  try  and 
win  a  name.  She  married  a  young  Cuban, 
Count  de  Cisneros,  a  journalist  and  artist,  and 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

ELEANORA   DE   CISNEROS   AS  ORTRUD   IN   "LOHENGRIN" 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       147 

descendant  of  a  very  old  family.  When  she 
arrived  in  Italy  she  found  that  the  Italians 
were  not  ready  to  hear  Eleanor  Broadfoot,  the 
American  from  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House, 
without  some  financial  consideration.  She 
therefore  had  her  cards  printed  Eleanora  de 
Cisneros,  and  was  not  only  urged  no  more  to 
pay  for  her  engagements,  but  secured  a  con- 
tract at  Turin,  where  she  made  her  debut  as 
Amneris  in  "  Aida."  In  addition  to  her  suc- 
cessful career  in  America,  where  she  has  ap- 
peared at  all  the  leading  opera-houses,  she  has 
travelled  in  the  antipodes,  South  America  and 
in  Europe,  reaping  many  laurels.  She  is  tall 
and  of  great  personal  beauty,  beside  possessing 
an  unusually  fine  contralto  voice.  She  has  sung 
at  Bayreuth  in  the  Wagner  opera  festival,  tak- 
ing the  part  of  Brunnhilde  and  Brangaene,  but 
has  also  made  her  mark  in  French  and  Italian 
opera.  One  of  her  favorite  roles  is  that  of 
Delilah,  and  it  is  reported  that  Madame  Melba 
hearing  her  dissolved  into  tears  and  declared 
that  she  was  the  greatest  Delilah  in  the  world. 
Madame  de  Cisneros  toured  Australia  in  the 
Melba  Opera  Company. 

Alessandro  Bonci,  the  tenor  who  was  brought 
by  Hammerstein  to  rival  Caruso,  was  born  in 


148  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

1870  at  Casena  in  the  Romagna.  He  is  said  to 
have  commenced  singing  as  soon  as  he  could 
talk. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  he  entered  the  Rossini 
Conservatory  of  Music  at  Pesaro,  where  he 
studied  under  Pedrotti  and  Felice  Coen,  making 
such  progress  that  in  three  years  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  position  of  solo  tenor  at  the 
Church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Loreto,  where  the 
choir  consists  of  sixteen  picked  voices. 

After  six  years  of  hard  training  Bonci  was 
engaged  to  sing  the  tenor  role  in  Verdi's 
11  Falstaff  "  at  the  Royal  Theatre  in  Parma, 
where  the  audiences  are  noted  for  their  critical 
faculty.  He  was  successful  and  was  at  once 
offered  an  opportunity  to  sing  the  title  role  in 
"  Faust  "  at  the  Del  Verne  Theatre  in  Milan. 
From  that  he  eventually  went  to  La  Scala,  the 
Mecca  of  all  opera  singers,  where  he  made  such 
a  success  in  "  I  Puritani  "  that  his  name  soon 
became  famous  throughout  Italy. 

He  made  a  tour  including  Florence,  Naples, 
Palermo  and  so  on  to  Warsaw,  St.  Petersburg, 
and  all  the  great  cities  of  Europe,  and  then  to 
South  America.  He  made  a  lasting  impression 
in  Paris  by  his  wonderful  singing  in  "  Don 
Giovanni." 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       149 

Bonci  has  gained  high  honors  in  Europe,  for 
he  has  had  conferred  upon  him  by  the  King  of 
Italy,  the  title  of  "  Commendatore  della  Corona 
d 'Italia,"  one  of  the  highest  orders  given  to 
illustrious  Italians.  He  is  "  Singer  of  the 
Chamber  ' '  to  the  King  of  Spain  and  the  Queen 
Mother,  the  King  of  Portugal,  and  the  Arch- 
duchess of  Austria.  At  King  Edward  VII 's 
reception  to  ex-President  Loubet  of  France, 
Bonci  was  the  only  opera  singer  invited  to  ap- 
pear at  his  Majesty's  concert. 

On  his  engagement  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  he  was  spoken  of  as  insignificant  in 
stature,  devoid  of  histrionic  sense,  but  dowered 
with  one  of  the  purest,  most  delicate,  supple, 
and  exquisitely  modulated  tenor  voices  of  our 
time.  After  his  first  hearing  he  was  recognized 
as  the  rival  of  Caruso,  although  the  two  singers 
excel  in  such  entirely  different  phases  of  their 
art  that  the  word  rival  seems  absurd  in  this 
connection.  The  rivals  were  the  Metropolitan 
and  the  Manhattan  Opera-Houses. 

Perhaps  the  most  complete  criticism  of  Bonci 
is  that  written  by  Mr.  Parker,  in  the  Boston 
Transcript,  in  April,  1908: 

'*  The  new  tenor  is  pure  voice  and  artistry 
themselves.  He  is  small  of  stature  and  of 


150  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To  day 

slight,  but  wholly  unaffected  presence.  His 
acting  is  discreet  operatic  convention  and 
adroit  ingenuity  in  the  keeping  of  his  histrionic 
and  physical  limitations  unobtrusive.  He 
handles  them  even  with  a  certain  grace  and 
quiet  that  make  them  need  no  other  veil  but 
the  charm  and  perfection  of  his  singing.  He 
is  no  heroic,  dramatic,  or  romantic  tenor.  His 
voice  is  as  light  as  his  body,  but  is  of  an  ex- 
quisite and  enticing  brightness,  clearness,  pli- 
ancy and  smoothness.  It  is  of  purest  tenor 
quality,  and  the  most  austere  master  might  not 
plausibly  quarrel  with  his  use  of  it.  He  is  a 
singer  of  delicate  voice  and  perfectly  mastered 
artistry. 

"  Only  Madame  Sembrich,  of  the  familiar 
singers  on  our  stage,  is  to  be  compared  with  this 
tenor  in  knowledge  of  the  art  of  song  and  in  the 
practice  of  it.  Its  refinements,  its  graces,  its 
subtleties  are  alike  at  his  command.  Mr.  Bonci 
might  be  of  the  eighteenth  century  instead  of 
the  twentieth  in  his  skill  with  the  ornament  of 
song.  He  is  master  of  exquisitely  sustained 
and  ordered  tone  in  flowing  and  songful  pas- 
sages. He  can  *  spin  '  his  voice  with  a  pliance 
that  our  generation  has  almost  ceased  to  expect 
in  singers  of  his  sex.  From  his  lowest  to  his 


Copyright  by  Aim6  Dupont 


ALESSANDRO   BONCI 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       151 

highest  note  his  voice  is  of  a  smooth  and  flaw- 
less suavity.  The  brightness  of  his  tone  is  al- 
most crystalline,  and  the  undulations  that  give 
it  life  are  delicacy  itself.  His  singing  flows  in 
perfectly  rounded  phrases,  and  he  has  the  sense 
of  pure  song  as  a  painter  has  the  sense  of  fine 
color,  or  a  writer  the  sense  of  the  intrinsic 
beauty  and  power  of  words.  He  was  born  for 
such  music  as  Mozart 's.  He  has  the  scrupulous 
elegance  of  diction  and  the  little  graces  and 
ardors  of  song  that  suit  the  music  of  Wilhelm 
Meister,  and  Puccini.  The  pleasure  of  Mr. 
Bonci  is  the  pleasure  of  the  beauty  of  a  pure 
tenor  voice  that  is  an  emotion  in  itself,  and  of 
an  artistry  that  is  fine  intelligence  and  taste. 
Caruso's  eulogists  have  said  that  his  voice  is 
golden.  By  the  same  comparison  Bonci 's  is 
silvern. ' ' 

At  the  opening  of  the  season  of  1906,  when 
Bonci  was  being  compared  with  Caruso,  the 
following  criticism  appeared,  and  it  seems  to 
sum  up  the  comparative  virtues  of  the  rivals, 
well  and  concisely: 

"  Those  who  are  seeking  the  highest  pleas- 
ures that  may  be  found  in  the  singing  of  men 
will  probably  go  to  hear  Signor  Caruso  for 
sensuous  charm  of  voice,  and  Signor  Bonci  for 


152  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

exemplification  of  much  finer  artistic  skill.  In 
nearly  all  things  which  enter  into  the  art  of 
vocalization  he  is  incomparably  finer  than  his 
rival  at  the  Metropolitan.  His  tones  are  im- 
peccably pure,  his  command  of  breath  perfect, 
his  enunciation  unrivalled  by  any  singer  now 
before  the  local  public.  His  phrasing  also,  his 
sense  of  proportion,  symmetry,  repose  —  ex- 
quisite. The  voice  is  a  pure  tenor  with  a  tinge 
of  that  pallid  quality  from  a  love  of  which  we 
have  been  weaned  by  the  tenors  who  have  won 
our  favor  since  Campanini  was  with  us,  but  it 
has  a  fine  nobility  in  the  highest  register  and  in 
all  its  phases  it  is  as  completely  under  his  com- 
mand as  are  the  keys  of  the  pianoforte  under 
the  diabolically  ingenious  fingers  of  Rosenthal. ' ' 
Madame  Bonci  has  known  her  husband  since 
his  earliest  days  at  Loreto.  He  was  singing 
then  in  the  church  choir,  making  daily  pilgrim- 
ages to  Parma  to  study  with  Felice  Coen,  who 
is  responsible  for  the  much  praised  singing  of 
the  little  tenor.  Madame  Bonci 's  father  was  a 
dealer  in  religious  books,  pictures  and  symbols, 
and  made  a  comfortable  fortune.  As  soon  as 
Bonci  learned  enough  to  go  on  the  stage  he  be- 
came engaged  to  the  daughter  of  the  man  who 
had  already  helped  him  to  success. 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       153 

The  following  incident  of  the  operatic  war 
waged  between  Conried  and  Hammerstein  will 
be  found  amusing,  inasmuch  as  it  indicates 
the  shrewdness  of  Haminerstein.  —  Once  upon 
a  time  the  Metropolitan  management  decided 
to  engage  Bonci,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Manhattan  Company.  Bonci  was  approached, 
listened,  and  an  agreement  was  reached.  The 
news  was  announced  with  due  flourish.  Ham- 
merstein had  nothing  to  say  at  first,  but  when 
the  report  was  well  circulated  he  announced 
that  he  was  most  flattered  to  find  that  the  Met- 
ropolitan people  had  to  come  to  him  for  good 
artists,  —  he  cited  Campanini  (the  conductor), 
Dalmores,  Bassi,  and  Sammarco,  all  of  whom 
had  been  approached  by  representatives  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company.  He  repeated  that  he 
was  much  flattered,  and  took  the  occasion  to 
announce  the  engagement  by  him  of  the  great 
Italian  tenor  Zenatello.  Some  time  later  he  also 
announced  that  Signor  Bonci  was  not  free  to 
make  any  engagement  with  the  Metropolitan 
Company  as  he  was  bound  to  the  Manhattan 
for  two  more  seasons,  unless  he  (Hammer- 
stein)  was  willing  to  release  the  singer. 

Eventually  Bonci  became  a  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company,  though  not  until  Ham- 


154  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

merstein  had  gone  out  of  business,  but  in  recent 
years  he  has  not  appeared  so  much  in  opera  as 
in  concerts  in  which  he  is  unrivalled,  and  in 
which  he  is  said  to  reap  a  far  greater  financial 
reward  than  in  opera. 

Ivan  Altschevsky  was  one  of  Hammerstein's 
new  tenors  in  the  season  of  1906-1907,  and  was 
described  as  one  who  sang  with  a  large  quantity 
of  badly  produced  sound  with  dramatic  intent, 
but  with  a  hopelessly  faulty  method.  He  did 
not  stay  long  in  America,  but  some  time  later 
he  is  said  to  have  lost  his  mind  and  to  have 
been  without  resources. 

Altschevsky  was  the  son  of  wealthy  parents 
and  had  been  reared  in  luxury  with  the  belief 
that  he  would  inherit  large  property  from  his 
father.  When  the  father  died  it  was  found  that 
everything  was  spent  and  the  property  mort- 
gaged. Young  Altschevsky  was  thrown  on  his 
own  resources.  He  took  to  singing,  and  was 
able  to  earn  a  living  by  his  voice.  "When  Ham- 
merstein heard  him  he  was  singing  in  a  cafe  at 
Brussels.  After  returning  to  Europe  he  cre- 
ated the  leading  role  in  an  opera  called  "  Le 
Cobzar  ' '  and  had  surprised  the  audience  by  the 
unusual  fervor  of  his  singing  and  acting.  After 
the  performance  it  was  found  that  he  had  lost 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       155 

his  reason  completely.  Schaliapine,  the  Rus- 
sian basso,  organized  a  benefit  for  him  in  Paris. 

Maurice  Renaud  was  born  at  Bordeaux  in 
1862.  He  studied  at  the  Conservatoire  in  Paris 
and  then  under  Gevaert  and  Dupont  at  Brus- 
sels. He  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  The- 
atre de  la  Monnaie,  in  Brussels,  and  remained 
there  for  ten  years,  making  occasional  visits 
elsewhere  during  his  engagement.  In  1896 
Renaud  went  for  a  short  time  to  the  Opera 
Comique  in  Paris,  but  was  soon  engaged  for  the 
Grand  Opera-House. 

Some  years  ago  M.  Renaud  left  the  Opera 
and  became  an  independent  singer. 

Maurice  Renaud  is  tall,  lithe  and  vigorous, 
with  a  voice  of  full,  rich  baritone  quality,  capa- 
ble of  a  wide  and  very  adroitly  modulated 
range  of  tonal  color,  from  delicacy  to  power, 
from  lyric  smoothness  to  piercing  poignancy. 
Always  a  singularly  acute  intelligence,  a  dis- 
cerning imagination,  and  a  minute  and  adroit 
artistry  guide  his  singing.  Every  detail  is  pol- 
ished and  adjusted  to  its  due  place  in  the  musi- 
cal and  emotional  whole  of  the  part  or  song. 
His  singing  and  his  characterization  in  opera 
seem  to  be  the  result  of  long  and  penetrating 
study  and  of  adroit  and  subtle  imagination. 


156  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

His  is  indeed  an  artistry  that  lacks  spontaneity 
and  impulse.  Sometimes,  in  fact,  the  results 
of  calculation  are  too  obvious  in  it,  and  it 
becomes  unduly  self-conscious  and  anxious. 
These  occasional  traits  are  rather  the  excess 
of  his  virtues,  —  of  his  varied  natural  gifts,  his 
pliancy  of  temperament,  his  keenness  of  in- 
telligence, his  fineness  of  imagination,  his  fond- 
ness for  reflection,  and  his  liking  for  significant 
and  individual  detail.  There  is  romance  as  well 
as  reflection  in  his  temperament. 

The  following  criticism  of  Eenaud's  inter- 
pretation of  the  role  of  Scarpia  and  his  compar- 
ison with  that  of  Scotti  will  be  most  interest- 
ing :  *  *  The  essential  difference  is  the  stress  that 
Eenaud  lays  on  the  cruelty  of  Scarpia.  Scotti, 
a  hard,  unscrupulous,  passionate  man,  who 
can  be  cruel  as  he  can  be  almost  anything  else 
that  is  evil,  when  occasion  and  disposition 
prompt.  To  Eenaud's  Scarpia  cruelty  has  be- 
come a  second  nature  and  essential  pleasure. 
He  is  cruel  for  the  perverse  sensual  pleasure  of 
cruelty.  Eenaud's  Scarpia  suggests  a  man  of 
far  more  acute  mind  than  Scotti 's." 

Maurice  Eenaud  has  been  called  the  * '  Edwin 
Booth  ' '  of  the  operatic  stage.  Among  his  most 
famous  impersonations  are  Mefistofele  in 


MAURICE   RENAUD 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       157 

Boito's  opera  of  the  same  name,  Rigoletto  in 
Verdi's  opera,  and  the  monk  Athanael  in  Mas- 
senet's "  Thais." 

When  Heinrich  Conried  succeeded  Maurice 
Grau  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  he 
found  in  his  desk  a  contract  which  would  have 
bound  Renaud  to  that  theatre  for  a  number  of 
years,  but,  being  ignorant  of  operatic  affairs 
and  of  those  pertaining  to  the  French  stage  in 
particular,  he  had  never  heard  of  Renaud,  and 
let  the  contract  go  by  default.  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein,  better  informed,  sought  Renaud  and 
kept  him  as  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  his 
company,  as  long  as  he  continued  to  manage 
the  Manhattan  Opera-House. 

One  of  the  leading  critics  wrote  of  him  in 
1910 :  *  *  His  distinction  is  an  artistry  of  the  in- 
tellect and  the  imagination  as  well  as  of  song 
and  histrionic  action,  an  artistry  that  is  essen- 
tially subtle,  that  exacts  like  qualities  in  those 
that  understand  and  admire,  and  that  thus  re- 
mains intrinsically  an  artistry  for  connoisseurs. 
.  .  .  There  are  as  many  Renauds  as  the  actor 
has  characters.  .  .  .  He  is  a  singer  by  dint  of 
intelligence  and  knowledge  as  well  as  by  grace 
of  voice  and  labor.  .  .  .  He  is  in  possession  of 
an  exalted  speech  that  often  is  more  poignant 


158  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  vivid  than  the  spoken  word."  In  short, 
Mr.  Renaud  is  a  remarkably  talented  actor, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  Mary  Garden,  the  audi- 
ence is  fascinated  by  the  character  presented, 
and  forgets  the  mere  voice. 

In  1912  M.  Renaud  expressed  some  views  on 
stage  management,  in  an  interview  with  a  rep- 
resentative of  Musical  America,  which  are 
worthy  of  the  perusal  of  all  opera  lovers.  Ex- 
tracts from  the  interview  are  as  follows : 

' '  We  have  lost  sight  of  the  function  of  opera 
to-day ;  we  have  neglected  to  consider  the  ideal 
it  should  fulfill.  The  historical  and  the  poetic 
drama  have  practically  disappeared  from  our 
stage.  It  is  to  opera,  therefore,  that  the  most 
imaginative  and  poetic  figures,  the  gods  and  the 
goddesses  and  mighty  heroes  must  seek  their 
refuge  if  they  wish  to  live  on.  Is  it  not,  there- 
fore, most  necessary  to  give  this  art  the  careful 
tending  and  cultivation  that  it  requires  and  that 
we  decidedly  owe  it?  I  am  not  accusing  any 
operatic  institution  in  particular,  nor  do  my 
remarks  apply  to  America  solely,  for  one  finds 
many  miserably  bad  representations  in  Eu- 
rope. 

"  In  respect  of  mise-en-scene  and  often  cos- 
tuming, opera  to-day  has  not  advanced  beyond 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       159 

the  time  of  Louis  XIV,"  he  declares.  "  What 
crudities,  what  ridiculous  effects  of  anachro- 
nism !  The  painted  skies  in  visible  sections,  the 
stiff  and  ungainly  coulisses  at  the  side  of  the 
scenes  —  all  with  which  the  theatre  has  long 
since  dispensed  —  what  business  have  they  in 
opera  to-day?  How  little  is  done  to  modify  and 
ameliorate  flagrant  operatic  absurdities,  how 
little  the  art  of  the  stage  manager  appears  to 
concern  itself  with  softening  and  toning  down 
the  weaknesses  of  situations  and  the  fatuity  of 
incidents ! 

"  The  individual  artist  himself  can  improve 
matters  only  in  so  far  as  he  is  assisted  by  the 
stage  managers  and  his  own  colleagues.  In  Paris 
I  appeared  in  Saint-Saens's  *  Henry  VIII.' 
In  the  first  act  there  is  a  long  aria,  '  Qui  done 
commande?  '  Now  it  is  useless  and  ineffectual 
always  to  deliver  an  aria  or  a  cavatina  standing 
in  the  conventional  posture  and  going  through 
its  full  length  as  unconcernedly  as  though  it 
were  nothing  more  than  a  mere  song,  quite  un- 
related to  the  surroundings.  So  in  Saint-Saens's 
opera  I  sang  almost  the  whole  first  part  of  this 
number  seated  and  only  moved  about  later. 
But  to  produce  analogous  effects  through  the 
rest  of  the  opera  it  is  necessary  that  the  other 


160  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

participants  should  evince  more  than  the  usual 
imagination. 

"  Consider  the  first  act  of  '  Komeo  et  Juli- 
ette. '  What  have  we  on  the  stage  ?  A  crowd  of 
guests  at  a  festival  and  an  old  man.  What  hap- 
pens? The  old  lord  exclaims,  '  Livrons-nous  a 
la  danse!  '  — '  Let  us  dance !  '  Does  it  not  seem 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  several 
couples  should  rise,  begin  to  dance  and  then  be 
followed  in  turn  by  others  ?  But  instead  of  that 
we  see  these  guests  and  courtiers  quietly  re- 
maining inactive  while  from  the  back  appears 
a  corps  of  ballet  performers  dressed  in  cos- 
tumes entirely  different,  which  goes  through  a 
series  of  evolutions  and  then  withdraws.  Is 
there  any  excuse  for  such  foolishness? 

"  Consider  again  '*  Carmen,'  in  which  I  am 
in  a  few  days  to  appear  as  the  Spanish  bull- 
fighter. In  the  second  act  Escamillo  has  been 
invited  to  drink  with  a  crowd  of  his  friends. 
The  throng  appears  singing  his  praises,  forms 
in  a  double  line  and  then  he  enters  alone,  the 
last  of  all,  drinks  and  tells  his  comrades,  all  of 
them  Spaniards,  mind  you,  the  story  of  a  bull- 
fight. Sheer  absurdity,  ridiculous  in  the  high- 
est degree !  My  idea  for  improving  the  episode 
would  be  to  make  this  individual  enter  either 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       161 

first  of  all  or,  better  still,  in  the  midst  of  the 
crowd  of  his  admirers  and  perhaps  carried  on 
their  shoulders,  since  such  a  cordial  welcome 
is  supposed  to  await  him.  And  then  an  effect- 
ive touch  might  be  added,  if,  as  he  came  in,  his 
arms  were  filled  with  flowers  to  scatter  among 
the  women.  That  the  honored  guest  should 
make  his  appearance  after  all  the  rest  have 
entered  the  inn  passes  comprehension.  But 
what  would  you?  If  managements  are  not  dis- 
posed to  effect  this  reform  what  can  the  lone 
singer  do? 

"  We  see  performances  of  '  Rigoletto  '  in 
which  the  Duke  and  others  wear  the  costumes 
of  an  epoch  one  or  two  centuries  later  than  the 
period  of  action.  Nothing  is  done,  no  one  com- 
plains. The  public,  you  say,  is  not  any  the  wiser 
and  does  not  appreciate  the  anachronism.  That 
may  be.  But  if  the  public  does  not  know  it,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  journalists  should.  Ac- 
curacy, sense  and  logic  are  surely  necessary  in 
the  staging  of  an  opera.  Perfect  management 
can  make  even  such  a  work  as  *  La  Favorita  ' 
acceptable  to-day.  As  for  the  Wagner  dramas 
I  can  only  say  that  I  always  prefer  to  hear  the 
tetralogy  in  concert  form  than  otherwise.  The 
ideal  pictures  of  its  characters  which  exist  in 


162  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

our  imaginations  are  created  by  the  music  and 
destroyed  by  what  the  stage  shows  us.  Think 
of  Wotan  as  he  stands  upon  the  rocks  in  the 
*  Walkiire.'  We  have  been  led  by  the  music 
to  look  for  a  figure  as  grand  and  as  mighty  as 
an  archangel.  The  conception  is  never  realized. 
I  feel  in  such  a  case  as  I  should  if  I  saw  some 
great  piece  of  literature,  with  personages  of 
which  I  had  formed  a  vivid  mental  picture, 
translated  into  life  through  the  medium  of  the 
stage.  I  need  scarcely  say  that  I  would  never 
desire  to  witness  the  dramatization  of  any  book 
which  I  hold  dear." 

Charles  Dalmores  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  tenors  now  living.  His 
reputation  is  widespread,  for  he  has  excited 
admiration  in  Bayreuth,  Vienna,  Paris  and 
most  of  the  chief  cities  of  Europe.  His  voice 
is  a  noble  organ,  manly,  tender,  and  always 
sympathetic.  He  sings  with  great  skill  and 
always  as  a  musician,  and  he  is  an  accomplished 
and  impressive  actor.  He  became  a  member  of 
the  Manhattan  Company  in  its  first  season. 

An  excellent  biography  of  him,  given  by  him- 
self, appeared  in  the  Etude,  the  editor  of  which 
journal  has  kindly  given  permission  for  its 
reproduction  in  these  pages: 


The  Manhattan  Opera-Housa       163 

"  I  was  born  at  Nancy  on  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1871.  I  gave  evidences  of  having  musical 
talent  and  my  musical  instruction  commenced 
at  the  age  of  six  years.  I  studied  first  at  the 
Conservatory  at  Nancy,  intending  to  make  a 
specialty  of  the  violin.  Then  I  had  the  mis- 
fortune of  breaking  my  arm.  It  was  decided 
thereafter  that  I  had  better  study  the  French 
horn.  This  I  did  with  much  success  and  attrib- 
ute my  control  of  the  breath  at  this  day  very 
largely  to  my  elementary  struggles  with  that 
most  difficult  of  instruments.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  I  played  the  second  horn  at  Nancy. 
Finally,  I  went,  with  a  purse  made  up  by  some 
citizens  of  my  home  town,  to  enter  the  great 
Conservatory  at  Paris.  There  I  studied  very 
hard  and  succeeded  in  winning  my  goal  in  the 
way  of  receiving  the  first  prize  for  playing  the 
French  horn. 

"  For  a  time  I  played  under  Colonne,  and 
between  the  ages  of  seventeen  and  twenty-three 
in  Paris  I  played  with  the  Lamoureux  Orches- 
tra. All  this  time  I  had  my  heart  set  upon  be- 
coming a  singer  and  paid  particular  attention 
to  all  of  the  wonderful  orchestral  works  we  re- 
hearsed. The  very  mention  of  the  fact  that  I 
desired  to  become  a  singer  was  met  with  huge 


164  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ridicule  by  my  friends,  who  evidently  thought 
that  it  was  a  form  of  fanaticism.  For  a  time 
I  studied  the  'cello  and  managed  to  acquire  a 
very  creditable  technic  upon  that  instrument. 

* '  Notwithstanding  the  success  I  met  with  the 
two  instruments  I  was  confronted  with  the  fact 
that  I  had  before  me  the  life  of  a  poor  musician. 
My  salary  was  low,  and  there  were  few,  if  any, 
opportunities  to  increase  it  outside  of  my  regu- 
lar work  with  the  orchestra.  I  was  told  that  I 
had  great  talent,  but  this  never  had  the  effect 
of  swelling  my  pocketbook.  In  my  military 
service  I  played  in  the  band  of  an  infantry 
regiment,  and  when  I  told  my  companions  that 
I  aspired  to  be  a  great  singer  some  day  they 
greeted  my  declaration  with  howls  of  laughter, 
and  pointed  out  the  fact  that  I  was  already 
along  in  years  and  had  an  established  profes- 
sion. 

"  At  the  sedate  age  of  twenty-three  I  was 
surprised  to  find  myself  appointed  Professor 
of  French  Horn  at  the  Conservatory  of  Lyons. 
Lyons  is  the  second  city  of  France  from  the 
standpoint  of  population.  It  is  a  busy  manu- 
facturing centre,  but  is  rich  in  architectural, 
natural  and  historical  interest,  and  the  position 
had  its  advantages,  although  it  was  away  from 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       165 

the  great  French  centre,  Paris.  The  opera  at 
Nancy  was  exceedingly  good,  and  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  go  often.  Singing  and  the  opera 
was  my  life.  My  father  had  been  manager  at 
Nancy  and  I  had  made  my  first  acquaintance 
with  the  stage  as  one  of  the  boys  in  '  Carmen.' 

11  I  have  omitted  to  say  that  at  Paris  I  tried 
to  enter  the  classes  for  singing.  My  voice  was 
apparently  liked,  but  I  was  refused  admission 
upon  the  basis  that  I  was  too  good  a  musician 
to  waste  my  time  in  becoming  an  inferior 
singer.  Goodness  gracious!  Where  is  musi- 
cianship needed  more  than  in  the  case  of  the 
singer?  This  amused  me,  and  I  resolved  to 
bide  my  time.  I  played  in  opera  orchestras 
whenever  I  had  a  chance,  and  thus  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  famous  roles.  One  eye  was 
on  the  music  and  the  other  was  on  the  stage. 
During  the  rests  I  dreamt  of  the  time  when  I 
might  become  a  singer  like  those  over  the  foot- 
lights. 

"  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  usually  a 
way.  I  taught  solfeggio  in  the  Lyons  Conserva- 
tory as  well  as  French  horn.  I  devised  all  sorts 
of  *  home-made  '  exercises  to  improve  my  voice 
as  I  thought  best.  Some  may  have  done  me 
good,  others  probably  were  injurious.  I  lis- 


166  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tened  to  singers  and  tried  to  get  points  from 
them.  Gradually  I  was  unconsciously  paving 
the  way  for  the  great  opportunity  of  my  life. 
It  came  in  the  form  of  an  experienced  teacher, 
Dauphin,  who  had  been  a  basso  for  ten  years 
at  the  leading  theatre  of  Belgium,  fourteen 
years  in  London,  and  later  director  at  Geneva 
and  Lyons.  He  also  received  the  appointment 
of  Professor  at  the  Lyons  Conservatory. 

"  One  day  Dauphin  heard  me  singing  and 
inquired  who  I  was.  Then  he  came  in  the  room 
and  said  to  me, '  How  much  do  you  get  here  for 
teaching  and  playing?  '  I  replied,  proudly, l  Six 
thousand  francs  a  year.'  He  said,  *  You  shall 
study  with  me  and  some  day  you  shall  earn  as 
much  as  six  thousand  francs  a  month.'  Dau- 
phin, bless  his  soul,  was  wrong.  I  now  earn  six 
thousand  francs  every  night  I  sing  instead  of 
every  month. 

"  I  could  hardly  believe  that  the  opportunity 
I  had  waited  for  so  long  had  come.  Dauphin 
had  me  come  to  his  house  and  there  he  told  me 
that  my  success  in  singing  would  depend  quite 
as  much  upon  my  own  industry  as  upon  his  in- 
struction. Thus  one  professor  in  the  conserva- 
tory taught  another  in  the  art  he  had  long 
sought  to  master.  Notwithstanding  Dauphin's 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       167 

confidence  in  me,  all  of  the  other  professors 
thought  that  I  was  doing  a  perfectly  insane 
thing,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to  prevent  me 
from  going  to  what  they  thought  was  my  ruin. 

"  Nevertheless,  I  determined  to  show  them 
that  they  were  all  mistaken.  During  the  first 
winter  I  studied  no  less  than  six  operas,  at  the 
same  time  taking  various  exercises  to  improve 
my  voice.  During  the  second  winter  I  mastered 
one  opera  every  month,  and  at  the  same  time 
did  all  my  regular  work  —  studying  in  my  spare 
hours.  At  the  end  of  my  course  I  passed  the 
customary  examination,  received  the  least  pos- 
sible distinction  from  my  colleagues  who  were 
still  convinced  that  I  was  pursuing  a  course 
that  would  end  in  complete  failure. 

"  This  brought  home  the  truth  that  if  I  was 
to  get  ahead  at  all  I  would  have  to  depend  en- 
tirely upon  myself.  The  outlook  was  certainly 
not  propitious.  Nevertheless  I  studied  by  my- 
self incessantly  and  disregarded  the  remarks  of 
my  pessimistic  advisers.  I  sang  in  a  church  and 
also  sang  in  a  synagogue  to  keep  up  my  income. 
All  the  time  I  had  to  put  up  with  the  sarcasm 
of  my  colleagues  who  seemed  to  think,  like  many 
others,  that  the  calling  of  the  singer  was  one 
demanding  little  musicianship,  and  tried  to 


168  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

make  me  see  that  in  giving  up  the  French  horn 
and  my  conservatory  professorship  I  would  be 
abandoning  a  dignified  career  for  that  of  a 
species  of  musician  who  at  that  time  was  not 
supposed  to  demand  any  special  musical  train- 
ing. Could  not  a  shoemaker  or  a  blacksmith 
take  a  few  lessons  and  become  a  great  singer? 
I,  however,  determined  to  become  a  different 
kind  of  a  singer.  I  believed  that  there  was  a 
place  for  the  singer  with  a  thorough  musical 
training,  and  while  I  kept  up  my  vocal  work 
amid  the  rain  of  irony  and  derogatory  remarks 
from  my  mistaken  colleagues  I  did  not  fail  to 
keep  up  my  interest  in  the  deeper  musical 
studies.  I  had  a  feeling  that  the  more  good 
music  I  knew  the  better  would  be  my  work  in 
opera.  I  wish  that  all  singers  could  see  this. 
Many  singers  live  in  a  little  world  all  of  their 
own.  They  know  the  music  of  the  footlights, 
but  there  their  experience  ends.  Every  sym- 
phony I  have  played  has  been  molded  into  my 
life  experience  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  help 
being  reflected  in  my  work. 

11  Finally  the  time  came  for  my  debut  in 
1899.  It  was  a  most  serious  occasion  for  me 
for  the  rest  of  my  career  as  a  singer  depended 
upon  it.  It  was  in  Eouen,  and  my  fee  was  to  be 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       169 

fifteen  hundred  francs  a  month.  I  thought 
that  that  would  make  me  the  richest  man  in  the 
world.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  town  for  the 
captain  of  the  police  to.  come  before  the  audi- 
ence at  the  end  and  inquire  whether  the  audi- 
ence approved  of  the  artists'  singing  or 
whether  their  vocal  efforts  were  unsatisfactory. 
This  was  to  be  determined  by  a  public  demon- 
stration. When  the  captain  held  up  the  sign 
*  Approved  '  I  felt  as  though  the  greatest  mo- 
ment in  my  life  had  arrived.  I  had  worked  so 
long  and  so  hard  for  success,  and  had  been 
obliged  to  laugh  down  so  much  scorn  that  you 
can  imagine  my  feelings.  Suddenly  a  great 
volume  of  applause  came  from  the  house  and  I 
knew  in  a  second  what  my  future  should  be. 

"  Then  it  was  that  I  realized  that  I  was  only 
a  little  way  along  my  journey.  I  wanted  to  be 
the  foremost  French  tenor  of  my  time.  I  knew 
that  success  in  France  alone,  while  gratifying, 
would  be  limited,  so  I  set  out  to  conquer  new 
worlds." 

Vittorio  Arimondi  was  the  leading  basso  of 
the  Manhattan  Opera-House  in  1907.  Ari- 
mondi was  born  in  Saluzzo  (Turin).  He  be- 
gan his  vocal  studies  under  Cima,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  spent  his  time  in  grounding  himself 


170  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

thoroughly  for  his  career.  His  official  debut 
was  made  at  Varesi  in  the  opera  "  Guarany  " 
by  Gomez.  This  engagement  was  followed  by 
others  and  soon  he  was  invited  to  sing  at  La 
Scala  in  some  trial  performances,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  he  was  engaged  for  four  sea- 
sons, under  satisfactory  conditions.  Then  he 
sang  three  seasons  at  the  Costanzi  in  Rome, 
and  three  at  the  Teatro  Fenice  in  Venice.  His 
fame  spread  and  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg, 
Moscow,  and  Berlin.  After  his  first  appear- 
ance he  was  engaged  regularly  each  season  to 
appear  in  those  cities. 

At  Prague,  Arimondi  is  said  to  have  sung 
eighteen  times  and  created  the  greatest  sensa- 
tion ever  produced  by  a  basso.  After  filling 
engagements  in  many  cities  of  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies  Arimondi  secured  an  ap- 
pearance at  Covent  Garden  in  London  and  sang 
there  each  season  for  six  years.  His  first  ap- 
pearance in  America  was  made  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  during  the  regime  of 
Abbey  and  Grau. 

Madame  Arimondi  was  an  excellent  singer 
with  a  mezzo-soprano  voice.  She  was  known 
under  her  maiden  name  of  Aurelie  Kitzer. 

In  1908  Arimondi  celebrated  the  twenty-fifth 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House        171 

anniversary  of  his  first  appearance  in  opera. 
In  1883  he  presented  himself  before  Verdi,  the 
composer,  as  a  candidate  for  a  part  in  "  Fal- 
staff."  Verdi  heard  him  sing  and  offered  him 
the  part  of  Pistol. 

Abramo  Didur  was  spoken  of  as  a  famous 
Polish  basso  who  has  come  to  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House.  When  he  appeared  in  "  Rhein- 
gold  ' '  at  La  Scala  a  critic  wrote  of  him, 
"  Barely  has  been  heard  at  La  Scala  a  voice 
as  magnificent  as  that  of  Didur,  an  authentic 
basso  cantante.  Full  of  color,  plastic,  a  true 
voice  of  Wotan."  Didur  was  educated  music- 
ally at  the  Conservatory  in  St.  Petersburg. 
He  made  his  debut  at  Lemberg  and  was  then 
engaged  for  the  Imperial  opera  at  Warsaw, 
after  which  he  sang  several  seasons  at  La 
Scala,  in  Milan. 

In  criticizing  Mr.  Hammerstein 's  first  season 
of  opera  Mr.  Finck  wrote:  "  Had  the  pace  set 
on  the  opening  night  been  kept  up,  Mr.  Ham- 
merstein would  have  found  his  opera-house  as 
profitable  as  the  cigar-making  machine  which 
enables  him  to  indulge  in  such  experiments. 
Of  course  it  could  not  be  kept  up.  Curiosity 
filled  the  house  the  first  night;  merit  alone 
could  fill  it  subsequently,  and  merit  is  not 


172  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

always    rewarded    as    promptly    as    it    should 
be. 

11  For  a  week  it  seemed  as  if  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House  would  be  chiefly  a  Bonci  opera- 
house.  The  audience  was  large  when  he  sang, 

—  small  when  he  did  not  sing.     It  was  a  war 
of  tenors,  —  Bonci  versus  Caruso.     But  grad- 
ually  the   criticisms   in   the   newspapers   con- 
vinced the  public  that  there  were  other  good 
singers  in  Hammerstein's  company,  and  that 
the  performances  were  actually  better  on  the 
nights  when  he  did  not  happen  to  sing.     Still 
there  were  not  as  many  hearers  as  there  should 
have    been    for    the    admirable    performances 
given  of  '  Faust,'  *  Carmen,'  and  particularly 
'  Aida.' 

"  In  none  of  these  operas  were  the  casts  at 
all  comparable  to  those  that  have  often  been 
heard  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  yet 
the  ensemble  was  so  excellent  that  the  general 
impression  was  astonishingly  good.  For  this 
result  Mr.  Campanini  was  chiefly  responsible, 

—  Cleofonte  Campanini,  brother  of  the  famous 
tenor  who  used  to  enrapture  American  audi- 
ences.    It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
conductor  has  aroused  as  much  enthusiasm  as 
the  tenor  used  to.     So  marvellous  is  his  gen- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       173 

eralship,  so  absolutely  is  every  factor  in  the 
complicated  operatic  ensemble  under  his  con- 
trol, that  the  average  opera  goer  feels  the  spell, 
the  magic  of  his  personality,  and  applauds  for 
him  as  he  does  for  Bonci  and  the  other  vocal 
favorites. 

"  .  .  .  Madame  Melba  was  not  a  member  of 
the  Hammerstein  company  the  first  month  of 
its  career.  In  the  meantime  the  female  con- 
tingent was  undeniably  weak.  Madame  Pinkert 
proved  herself  an  excellent  coloratura  singer 
but  in  sustained  melody  she  has  been  less  satis- 
factory. None  of  the  other  women  singers 
quite  proved  herself  of  what  is  known  in  New 
York  as  the  l  Metropolitan  standard;  '  never- 
theless, some  good  impersonations  have  been 
given  by  Bressler-Gianoli,  De  Cisneros,  Russ. 

"  Much  stronger  is  the  list  of  tenors,  bari- 
tones, and  basses.  Bonci  has  not  made  such  a 
sensation  as  it  was  expected  he  would,  as  the 
rival  of  Caruso.  His  voice  lacks  the  volume, 
the  luscious  quality,  the  spontaneity  of  utter- 
ance that  characterize  Caruso's;  his  strength 
lies  in  his  style  —  his  artistic  phrasing,  his 
skill  in  filare  la  voce,  his  good  taste.  In  a  word 
he  is  a  first-class  singer  with  a  voice  not  quite 
first-class.  His  colleague,  Bassi,  has  a  better 


174  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

voice  and  sings  well,  too.  Indeed,  the  company 
is  exceptionally  well  supplied  with  good  tenors, 
Dalmores  and  Altchefsky  being  real  artists, 
too.  The  baritone  Renaud  gets  as  much  as 
Bonci,  and  fully  deserves  it;  he  is  a  wonder- 
fully picturesque  Don  Giovanni  and  Rigoletto. 
Ancona  and  Arimondi  also  must  have  honor- 
able mention." 

Mr.  Joseph  Sohn,  reviewing  the  season  in  the 
Forum,  admirably  summarized  the  achieve- 
ments of  Mr.  Hammerstein  in  the  following 
paragraph : 

"  Mr.  Hammerstein  has  truly  ushered  in  an 
operatic  New  Year,  if  not  a  new  era  in  operatic 
annals.  For  New  York  has  never  before  in  its 
history  had  so  fine  an  ensemble,  such  finished 
performances  of  Italian  opera,  as  have  been 
given  at  the  new  opera-house  in  Thirty-fourth 
Street. 

"  New  York  had  long  been  prone  to  think 
that  there  was  a  dearth  of  good  singers  abroad : 
Mr.  Hammerstein  has  brought  over  a  whole 
shipful  of  them.  He  has  introduced  several 
conductors  whom  it  would  be  difficult  to  dupli- 
cate. He  has  presented  an  orchestra  drilled 
to  a  nicety,  and  ever  in  absolute  accord  with 
singers  and  chorus.  He  has  produced  a  chorus, 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       175 

not  consisting  of  lay  figures,  but  of  wide-awake 
men  and  women,  who  not  only  sing  admirably 
together,  but  whose  grouping  on  the  stage  is 
natural,  life-like,  and  vivid  to  the  last  degree. 
He  has  been  at  pains  to  present  scenery  and 
costumes  which  are  never  incongruous,  but  gen- 
erally appropriate  and  pleasing;  and,  instead 
of  presenting  a  few  *  stars,'  surrounded  by  a 
most  disappointing  aggregate  of  satellites,  he 
has  given  us  an  agreeable  variety  of  excellent 
singers  of  the  principal  roles,  as  well  as  uni- 
formly competent  interpreters  of  minor  parts. 
.  .  .  Our  Manhattan  opera,  if  continued  along 
the  lines  followed  this  season,  should  receive 
the  unstinted  support  of  every  true  music-lover 
in  New  York  City." 

During  the  early  part  of  Hammerstein's  sec- 
ond season,  on  November  30,  1907,  Mr.  Law- 
rence Gilman  published  an  excellent  article  on 
the  opening  of  the  second  season  at  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House,  from  which  we  are  per- 
mitted to  quote  the  following  paragraph: 

"  Mr.  Hammerstein's  season,  it  cannot  be 
too  vigorously  emphasized,  deserves  the  atten- 
tion of  all  those  who  realize  the  significant  part 
which  can  be  taken  in  the  musical  activities  of 
a  community  by  an  operatic  institution  which  is 


176  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

vital  and  alive  and  untrammelled  in  all  its 
parts;  which  is  not  dominated  by  traditions 
that  have  ceased  to  be  valid,  or  by  inordinate 
and  obstructive  personal  influences.  It  is  an 
altogether  singular  fact,  a  fact  to  be  appre- 
ciated and  to  be  celebrated,  that  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein  has  determined  to  produce,  and  is  actually 
producing,  new  works  of  interest  and  impor- 
tance; that  he  is  not  depending  for  his  appeal 
upon  a  stale  and  de-vitalized  repertoire,  or 
upon  the  attraction  of  a  few  voices:  this  is 
what  one  means  by  the  assertion  that  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  is  alive  and  vital  in  all  its 
parts.  If  the  actual  performances  were  far 
less  excellent  and  praiseworthy  than  they  are, 
the  influence  of  the  house  as  an  institution 
would  still  be  stimulating  and  profitable,  and 
its  activities  a  source  of  benefit  to  operatic  art 
in  its  best  estate.  When  it  is  reflected  that  Mr. 
Hammerstein  is  actually  preparing  to  produce 
half  a  dozen  new  operas  that  have  never  been 
heard  in  America  —  works  of  the  calibre  of 
Debussy's  *  Pelleas  et  Melisande,'  Charpen- 
tier's  '  Louise,'  Massenet's  '  Jongleur  de 
Notre  Dame  '  and  *  Thais,'  some  idea  of  the 
scope  and  value  of  the  work  that  is  being  under- 
taken at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House  will  be 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       177 

appreciated.  And  let  it  be  remarked,  as  a  cir- 
cumstance the  import  of  which  needs  no  em- 
phasis, that  Mr.  Hammerstein  is  undertaking 
the  production  of  at  least  one  of  these  new 
operas,  Debussy's  '  Pelleas  et  Melisande,' 
with  a  full  realization  of  the  fact  that  he  is  ex- 
tremely unlikely  to  find  any  commercial  profit 
in  the  venture.  Debussy's  lyric  drama  will  not, 
in  all  probability,  make  a  wide  popular  appeal, 
for  it  is  rare  and  subtle  and  strange  to  a  de- 
gree; but  the  work  is  of  extraordinary  artistic 
importance,  and  it  is  realized  by  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein  that  its  presentation,  for  the  first  time  in 
America,  will  redound  to  his  credit  in  ways  that 
are  permanent  and  valuable." 

During  Hammerstein 's  first  season  he  wisely 
confined  himself  to  giving  performances  of 
operas  which  were  old  favorites,  and  relying 
upon  his  chorus  and  orchestra,  as  much  as  upon 
his  soloists  to  give  as  nearly  as  possible  a  per- 
fect production.  During  the  second  season, 
however,  he  produced  four  new  operas,  i.  e., 
Charpentier's  "  Louise,"  Massenet's  "  Thais," 
Debussy's  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande,"  and  Offen- 
bach's "  Les  Contes  d 'Hoffman."  This  latter 
had,  however,  been  given  by  an  opera  bouffe 
company  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  in  1882, 


178  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

under  Maurice  Grau,  so  that  it  was  a  revival, 
rather  than  a  new  production.  That  Hammer- 
stein  showed  good  judgment  is  seen  by  the  fact 
that  these  four  operas  have  been  given  many 
performances.  ' '  Pelleas  et  Melisande, ' '  a  mod- 
ern lyric  drama,  has  been  given  many  times 
under  varying  circumstances,  and  has  caused 
more  discussion  of  an  aesthetic  nature  than  any 
opera  of  the  present  day. 

Mr.  Hammerstein  replenished  his  staff  of 
singers  judiciously.  He  engaged  Madame  Nor- 
dica,  who  had  broken  with  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House,  and  he  brought  over  from  Paris 
a  singing  actress  of  remarkable  ability,  —  Mary 
Garden.  His  new  tenor  was  Zenatello,  and  an 
excellent  contralto,  Madame  Gerville-Keache. 
All  these  singers  have  become  distinct  favorites. 

No  singer  has  appeared  in  America  who  has 
caused  more  diversified  comment  than  Mary 
Garden.  No  singer  has  given  the  American 
public  more  food  for  thought.  No  singer  has 
proved  to  be  a  more  complete  artist. 

Miss  Garden's  own  account  of  her  early 
career  is  given  thus :  —  She  began  to  learn  the 
violin  at  the  age  of  six,  and  when  twelve  years 
old  she  played  at  a  concert.  Now  she  wanted 
to  play  the  piano,  and  began  to  study  that  in- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       179 

strument,  and  practised  five  hours  a  day. 
When  she  was  sixteen  she  took  part  in  an  ama- 
teur performance  of  "  Trial  by  Jury  "  in  Chi- 
cago, where  she  was  then  living,  and  she  de- 
veloped a  desire  to  learn  singing.  She  worked 
hard  for  two  years  with  Mrs.  Duff,  but  longed 
to  go  to  Paris.  An  opportunity  came  when  she 
was  nineteen,  and  she  went  for  a  year  or  two, 
without  any  definite  plans.  She  knew  no 
French,  but  lived  where  she  had  to  speak 
French  and  in  six  months  was  able  to  read  her 
first  book  in  that  language,  and  in  a  year  she 
could  converse  quite  well. 

She  began  investigating  teachers.  One  said 
he  could  put  her  on  the  operatic  stage  in  twenty- 
six  weeks.  She  thought  it  over  and  decided 
that  this  was  too  short  a  time.  She  eventually 
heard  Trabadello  and  began  to  take  lessons 
with  him.  She  continued  for  a  year  and  then 
went  to  Chevalier,  remaining  with  him  until  she 
made  her  debut  at  the  Opera  Comique,  in  1900, 
through  the  help  of  Sybil  Sanderson.  On  this 
occasion  she  went  on  quite  unexpectedly  in  the 
third  act  of  "  Louise,"  and  pleased  the  audi- 
ence. 

Miss  Garden  never  took  a  lesson  in  acting  in 
her  life.  When  she  has  a  new  role  she  thinks  it 


180  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

all  out.  And  she  seldom  plays  any  part  twice 
in  exactly  the  same  manner. 

She  is  an  American  of  Scottish  descent,  and 
made  her  artistic  reputation  practically  in  one 
city  —  Paris  —  at  the  Opera  Comique,  al- 
though she  occasionally  appeared  elsewhere, 
as  for  instance  Brussels  and  London.  She  was 
content  in  Paris  and  made  no  effort  to  return  to 
America  until  Oscar  Hammerstein  found  her, 
when  she  was  willing  to  come,  with  the  prestige 
of  an  already  notable  career. 

Miss  Garden's  is  a  singular  and  penetrating 
personality  on  the  stage.  She  invariably  sug- 
gests her  operatic  character,  sometimes  with 
large  and  vivid  illusion,  but  oftener  with  an  ex- 
ceeding felicity  and  finesse.  She  can  bear  her 
part  as  an  accomplished  operatic  actress  in  the 
intricate  and  erotic  ways  of  modern  music- 
drama  as  Parisian  composers  and  librettists 
write  it  —  while  her  singing  is  less  a  pure  art 
in  itself  than  a  means  to  a  more  suggestive  and 
poignant  dramatic  expression.  She  is  accus- 
tomed to  a  theatre  small  in  its  audience  room, 
w.iere  very  close  intimacy  between  singer  and 
listener  is  possible,  and  where  every  delicate 
suggestion,  and  every  stroke  of  finesse,  may  go 
home,  and  where  the  charm  or  power  of  the  per- 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

MARY    GARDEN   AS   SALOME 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       181 

sonality  passes  the  footlights  and  penetrates 
those  beyond. 

Miss  Garden  seems  inevitably  to  regard  her 
singing  as  primarily  a  suggestive  and  idealized 
speech.  Her  voice  in  itself  is  not  remarkable 
for  compass,  body,  or  quality.  The  connois- 
seurs may  readily  find  flaws  in  the  technical 
artistry  of  her  singing.  Hers  is  not  the  voice 
for  the  full-blooded  coloratura  of  Violetta's 
music.  Bather  the  virtue  of  her  singing  is  her 
ability  to  shape  and  color  the  significant  and 
haunting  phrase,  to  thread  her  way  through  an 
irridescent  web  of  them,  such  as  Debussy's 
music  for  Melisande,  and  to  give  each  a  char- 
acteristic and  persuasive  shimmer  and  edge. 
In  all  her  parts  her  singing  abounds  in  subtle, 
shaded  felicities.  At  moments  her  singing  is 
like  a  new  and  strange  speech  —  as  new  and 
strange  as  Debussy's  music.  The  listener  feels 
the  captivating  fascination  and  the  penetrating 
suggestion,  and  leaves  the  tests  of  cold  technical 
blood  until  the  spell  has  passed. 

It  took  time  for  Americans  to  understand 
her,  and  at  the  first  American  performance  of 
'  \  Thai's, ' '  although  she  received  practically  no 
applause,  it  was  nevertheless  felt  that  she  had 
made  a  distinct  success. 


182  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

It  would  not  be  possible  in  the  limited  space 
of  this  book  to  quote  extensively  from  the  criti- 
cisms of  Miss  Garden's  impersonations,  but  in 
order  to  show  the  diversity  of  opinion  let  us 
quote  three  reviews  of  her  interpretation  of 
Carmen,  which  has  been  considered  one  of  her 
least  popular  characters: 

(1) — "From  the  moment  of  her  first  en- 
trance the  artist  invested  Carmen  with  every 
physical  charm  and  allurement  which  tradition 
demands  of  the  role,  but  she  also  succeeded  in 
making  the  perennially  fascinating  cigarette 
girl  of  Merimee  something  more  than  merely  an 
unreasoning  creature  of  passion  and  pleasure. 
The  Garden  view  of  Carmen  presented  a 
woman  elementally  intense  in  her  feelings  and 
yet  sufficiently  mistress  of  herself  to  enjoy  her 
triumphs  over  men  for  the  sake  of  the  sense 
of  power  such  experiences  give  her.  She 
studied  her  victims  even  while  she  herself  fell 
under  the  spell  of  her  passions,  and  with  her, 
complete  mastery  of  the  one  possessed  seemed 
synonymous  with  satiety.  Miss  Garden  con- 
ceived her  Carmen  as  a  decided  fatalist,  for  in 
the  famous  card-song  the  dread  omen  of  death 
seemed  to  interest  rather  than  to  frighten  her, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  opera  Don  Jose  and  his 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       183 

knife  aroused  her  to  scornful  laughter  and 
haughty  unbelief  until  he  made  the  fatal  lunge, 
and  she  realized  that  her  power  over  him  was 
not  sufficient  to  outweigh  his  jealousy.  Then, 
even  in  her  death  agony,  Carmen  looked  her 
surprise,  and  without  any  trace  of  terror  died 
bravely  —  and  gracefully. 

1 '  Coquetting  appeared  to  be  as  the  breath  of 
life  to  Carmen,  and  she  sounded  the  keynote  to 
her  character  as  early  as  her  first  entrance, 
when  she  flirted  with  every  man  who  came  near 
her,  and  went  to  those  who  did  not.  The  sol- 
diers who  captured  her  were  honored  lavishly 
with  Carmen's  glances  and  smiles,  Zuniga 
basked  complacently  in  the  light  of  her  irre- 
sistible invitations,  and  Escamillo,  who  looked 
maddened  beasts  in  the  eye,  quailed  before  the 
all-conquering  orbs  of  the  Sevillian  wanton. 
While  Carmen,  even  in  the  readings  of  other 
artists,  always  had  used  those  same  personages 
for  her  machinations,  it  remained  for  Mary 
Garden  to  insist  that  the  girl  was  not  a  slave 
to  money  or  to  passion,  and  she  made  clear  her 
theqry  in  every  phase  of  her  delineation.  It 
was  an  absorbingly  interesting  character  study 
and  the  audience  followed  it  with  the  keenest 
sympathy." 


184  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

(2)  — "  Miss  Garden  made  a  serious  and  in 
some  respects  successful  attempt  to  sing  the 
music.     She  must  have  astonished  many  of  her 
hearers  by  the  fidelity  of  her  intonation  in  many 
passages,  but  in  many  others  her  quality  of  tone 
was  not  only  harsh  but  even  distressing.    Ac- 
cording to  Miss  Garden,  Carmen  was  not  so 
much  a  gypsy  as  a  termagant  of  the  streets  of 
Seville.    It  seemed  to  be  her  idea  that  men  of 
the  types  of  Don  Jose  and  Escamillo  could  be 
overcome  by  the  most  vulgar  animalism.    There 
was  no  poetry,  no  subtlety,  none  of  that  inde- 
scribable magnetism  that  one  finds  in  the  orig- 
inal character.    Rude  vigor,  boisterous  action, 
and   something   that  looked   like   an   undying 
pique  animated  her.    It  has  been  well  said  that 
some  artists  mistake  temper  for  temperament. 
It  was  the  former  and  not  the  latter  which  fitted 
the  scowling  eyes  and  moved  the  writhing  form 
of  this  quite  unseemly  Carmen.     Richard  III 
remarked,   '  Was  ever  woman  in  this  humor 
wooed?  '     He   did  not  mean   it  in  this  way, 
but    Don    Jose    might    properly    have    asked 
himself  the  question   and   answered  it,   *  Not 
by  me. '  ' ' 

(3)  — "  Miss  Garden's  performance  was  re- 
markable in  many  ways.    It  was  original  with- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       185 

out  being  extravagant,  thoughtfully  conceived 
and  yet  apparently  spontaneous;  characterized 
by  a  wealth  of  ingenious  detail  that  was  not  ex- 
crescent ornamentation,  but  as  a  constant  and 
natural  revelation  of  character.  In  her  effort 
to  present  her  own  conception  of  Carmen,  Miss 
Garden  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  do  violence 
to  Bizet's  music  or  to  appear  as  a  strange  and 
unfamiliar  figure. 

"  We  saw  Carmen  as  we  fancy  her  from 
reading  the  story  and  the  libretto;  not  neces- 
sarily as  other  women  of  talent  have  portrayed 
her,  for  there  may  be  reasonable  differences  of 
opinion  concerning  the  precise  manner  in  which 
Carmen  should  act  in  the  scenes  provided  for 
her  by  the  librettists.  We  saw  a  Carmen  that 
was  not  modelled  on  that  of  another,  and  yet 
was  the  woman  whose  loves  never  lasted  over 
six  months  —  Escamillo  thus  flattered  her,  for 
six  weeks  or  six  days  were  enough  for  the  satis- 
faction of  her  caprices. 

"  This  Carmen  was  sensual,  stony-hearted, 
as  one  subject  to  the  passion  that  '  hardens  a' 
within,  and  petrifies  the  feeling.'  The  ruin  of 
this  man  and  the  death  of  that  one  were  indif- 
ferent to  her.  A  fatalist,  she  was  not  a  coward. 
She  knew  her  power  over  men.  Officer,  soldier, 


186  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

bull-fighter  in  turn  pleased  her  vanity  and  sat- 
isfied her  longing. 

"  Miss  Garden's  Carmen  was  not  a  tough  girl 
of  the  tobacco  factory,  not  a  gutter  snipe,  not 
a  vulgar  rowdy.  The  smugglers  knew  her 
shrewdness  and  her  power  and  she  queened  it 
over  them.  She  could  assume  a  baleful  repose, 
and  never  was  she  so  dangerous  as  when  she 
was  mute.  She  was  not  noisy,  chattering, 
shrewish.  "When  she  gave  way  to  her  temper, 
she  was  ready  to  kill. 

"  This  character  was  brought  before  us  in 
flesh  and  blood.  Miss  Garden  accomplished 
this  by  the  modulation  and  the  coloring  of  the 
voice,  by  uncommonly  effective  facial  expres- 
sion and  by  significant  gestures.  All  these 
worked  together  with  the  utmost  naturalness 
and  with  irresistible  effect.  Miss  Garden  did 
not  find  it  necessary  to  act  like  a  spoiled  child 
or  to  be  aggressively  vulgar.  Even  in  her 
sensual  appeal  to  Don  Jose  there  was  the  inde- 
finable something  that  saved  the  scene  from  the 
grossness  of  ill-considered  realism." 

Miss  Garden,  in  an  interview,  gave  a  word  of 
advice  to  girls  departing  to  Paris:  "  Do  not 
talk  too  much  about  your  plans  for  the  future. 
Do  not  be  insistent  upon  that  debut  at  the  Paris 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       187 

Opera,  —  or  even  any  operatic  debut.  Go  over 
there  quietly,  study  and  discover  for  what  you 
are  best  fitted.  If  it  is  opera,  and  you  work 
earnestly  for  that  career,  be  sure  that  your  op- 
portunity will  come.  No  real  talent  was  ever 
allowed  to  languish  neglected  and  unseen." 

But  she  stirred  up  a  long  discussion  by  some 
very  pertinent  remarks  which  she  made  in  an 
interview  with  the  representative  of  one  of  the 
daily  papers.  The  paragraph  which  caused  the 
discussion  is  this : 

"  To-day  if  you  go  on  the  French  stage  you 
have  got  to  have  something  besides  a  voice. 
You  must  have  a  personality.  A  mere  voice 
bores  them  in  Paris,  and  it  is  getting  to  be  the 
same  way  in  America,  where  people  don't  like 
to  hear  a  voice  coming  out  of  an  expressionless 
face." 

Miss  Garden  had  said  that  in  her  early  days 
she  had  been  assured  that  "  if  she  could  pro- 
vide the  voice  and  the  personality  "  as  an 
equipment  for  the  operatic  stage  the  matters 
of  education  and  training  could  be  taken  care 
of.  The  editor  of  the  Evening  Sun  commented 
upon  her  remarks  at  some  length.  He  said : 

"  The  ideal  prima  donna  is  no  longer  con- 
sidered a  demi-goddess,  to  be  hailed  as  a  prod- 


188  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

igy  of  nature  and  accepted  devoutly  as  a  diva, 
but  is  regarded  critically  as  a  finished  product 
of  many  processes,  whose  raw  material  is  a 
precious  voice  combined  with  its  perfect  setting 
of  an  exactly  poised  personality,  physical  and 
spiritual,  unalloyed  with  any  detracting  capac- 
ity for  human  emotions.  Love,  hate,  pride,  de- 
spair —  all  such  dross  is  burnt  out  of  the  liquid 
treasure  in  the  crucible  of  training." 

Then  came  the  arguments  as  to  "  What  is 
personality?  "  A  writer  in  the  Musical  Courier 
sums  it  up  in  the  following  paragraph: 

11  It  may  be  in  some  degree  illuminating 
(since  there  is  no  hope  of  rounding  up  the 
definition  of  it  in  a  word)  to  think  that  this 
'  personality,'  for  an  artist,  consists  in  a  pro- 
found understanding  of  one's  art,  of  one's  life 
and  nature  in  relation  to  it,  and  in  the  bringing 
of  one's  every  resource  —  physical  and  spir- 
itual —  to  bear  upon  it,  the  term  spiritual  being 
intended  to  include  the  emotional  capacity, 
whether  in  its  crude  state  in  the  temperamental 
artist  or  in  its  clarified  state  in  the  artist  who 
employs  it  sympathetically  to  artistic  purpose. 

"  Personality  is,  therefore,  fundamentally 
understanding,  for  one  cannot  use  either  his 
physical  or  his  spiritual  nature  to  purpose 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       189 

without  understanding.  And  if  one  is  not 
gifted  with  spontaneous  understanding  the 
pathway  to  it  is  long  and  hard.  Yet  it  is  the 
true  path,  and  the  lyrical  artist  who  does  not 
make  it  his  chief  pursuit,  but  depends  upon 
emotional  display  or  mere  voice,  leaves  behind 
all  hope  of  becoming  a  great  artist." 

An  excellent  article  was  published  by  Mr. 
Arthur  Farwell  in  Musical  America,  but  its 
length  prohibits  quotation  here.  The  subject 
is  one  which  is  closely  connected  with  the  mod- 
ern view  of  operatic  art,  and  we  would  advise 
our  readers  to  look  up  Mr.  Farwell 's  article. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Miss  Garden 
has  given  wonderful  impersonations  of  such 
characters  as  Marguerite,  Griselidis,  and  Me- 
lisande,  and  that  her  reputation  does  not  de- 
pend upon  characters  of  another  type,  such  as 
Salome,  Thais,  Sappho,  and  Louise,  though  the 
sensational  press  has  devoted  more  attention 
to  her  performance  of  such  characters  than  to 
those  of  a  higher  type.  The  great  merit  of 
Miss  Garden's  art  is  that  she  has  never  been 
content  with  merely  the  externals  of  a  char- 
acter, but  has  made  a  deep  psychological 
study  of  the  nature  of  each  personage  that  she 
represents.  She  does  not  regard  her  roles 


190  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

merely  as  singing  parts,  but  believes  that  each 
character  should  be  delineated  with  as  much 
care  and  attention  to  detail  as  the  character  in 
the  spoken  drama.  She  has  constantly  pointed 
out  in  interviews  that  acting  has  been  too  much 
neglected  in  opera,  and  that  she  has  striven  to 
establish  a  standard  which  shall  regard  the 
histrionics  of  an  opera  as  of  more  importance 
than  the  singing. 

Jeanne  Gerville-Reache  was  born  in  the  south 
of  France.  Her  father  was  colonial  governor 
of  Guadeloupe.  She  studied  singing  in  Paris 
with  Eosina  Laborde  and  Criticos,  but  the 
wishes  of  her  family  delayed  her  first  appear- 
ance in  opera,  which  finally  took  place  at  the 
Opera  Comique  on  December  20,  1899,  when 
she  sang  the  role  of  Orpheus  in  Gluck's 
opera. 

She  next  created  the  part  of  Catharine  in  Er- 
langer's  "  Juif  Polonaise,"  in  April,  1900,  and 
the  part  of  Genevieve  in  Debussy's  "  Pelleas  et 
Melisande  "  in  April,  1902.  She  sang  at  la 
Monnaie  in  Brussels  in  1904  and  at  Covent 
Garden  in  1905,  and  came  to  America  as  a 
member  of  the  Manhattan  Company  in  the  fall 
of  1907,  making  her  American  debut  as  the 
Blind  Mother  in  "  La  Gioconda  "  on  Novem- 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

JEANNE   GERVILLE  -  REACHE   AS   FRICKA    IN    "  DIE   WALKURE  " 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       191 

ber  4.  She  appeared  with  great  success  also 
as  Dalila,  Carmen,  the  Queen  in  "  Pelleas  et 
Melisande,"  and  Anita  in  "  La  Navarraise." 
Her  voice  is  particularly  warm,  luscious  and 
southern,  her  face  and  figure  striking  and  she 
has  much  dramatic  force. 

Madame  Gerville-Reache  in  private  life  is 
Mrs.  George  C.  Rembrand. 

A  critic  in  Philadelphia,  after  a  performance 
of  "  Samson  et  Delilah,"  declared  that  Ma- 
dame Gerville-Reache  was  the  greatest  con- 
tralto since  Alboni.  He  praised  "  her  velvety 
voice,  her  magnetism,  personal  beauty  and 
charm,  her  ability  as  an  actress  and  the  remark- 
able tone  effects  she  produces  with  her  beauti- 
ful organ." 

It  was  due  to  Emma  Calve  that  Madame  Ger- 
ville-Reache went  on  the  stage.  When  she  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  one  of  her  friends  induced 
Calve  to  hear  her  sing,  and  Calve  embraced  her 
and  said  that  she  must  go  on  the  stage,  and 
that  with  such  a  voice  it  would  be  a  crime  if 
she  were  prevented.  So  her  studies  were  pur- 
sued  under  M.  Criticos,  a  Greek  residing  in 
Paris,  who  had  also  been  a  teacher  of  Jean  de 
Reszke.  She  was  coached  in  the  "  Prophet  " 
and  "  Orfeo  "  by  Madame  Viardot-Garcia,  and 


192  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

as  Dalila  she  was  coached  by  the  composer, 
Camille  Saint-Saens.  In  this  part  she  made  a 
tremendous  sensation  in  Brussels  and  Paris, 
which  she  duplicated  later  in  America. 

As  one  critic  remarked:  "  It  was  all  up  with 
poor  Samson  when  Delilah  appeared." 

The  following  excellent  review  of  Madame 
Gerville-Reache 's  impersonation  of  Dalila  was 
written  by  Mr.  Philip  Hale,  when  the  opera 
was  given  in  Boston  in  March,  1910 : 

"  Mme.  Gerville-Reache  took  the  part  of 
Dalila  last  night  for  the  first  time  in  Boston. 
She  was  heard  here  as  a  member  of  Mr.  Ham- 
merstein's  company  in  April,  1909,  and  her 
reading  of  the  letter  in  *  Pelleas  et  Melisande,' 
her  brilliant  Amneris,  and  her  intensely  dra- 
matic Anita  in  *  La  Navarraise  '  are  well  re- 
membered. When  '  Tristan  und  Isolde  '  was 
performed  here  recently  she  took  the  part  of 
Brangaene  in  two  representations,  but  the 
music  was  not  well  suited  to  her  voice. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  years  certain  imper- 
sonations stand  out  in  bold  relief  —  as  Jean 
de  Reszke's  Romeo,  Milka  Ternina's  Isolde, 
De  Lucia's  Canio,  the  Carmen  of  the  earlier 
Calve,  the  lago  of  Victor  Maurel.  This  list 
might  easily  be  extended,  and  the  Dalila  of 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       193 

Mme.  Gerville-Reache  should  surely  be  in- 
cluded. 

11  Grave  and  learned  divines  have  speculated 
concerning  the  character  of  the  woman  of  Sorek 
and  arrived  at  entertaining  conclusions. 

"It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  dilate  on 
the  psychology  of  the  character  in  discussing 
Mme.  Gerville-Reache 's  impersonation.  When 
a  woman  takes  the  part  of  Helen  of  Troy,  Cleo- 
patra, Dalila,  or  any  other  noble  dame  of  an- 
tiquity whose  face  or  personal  fascination 
played  havoc  with  men,  it  is  only  reasonable  to 
ask  that  the  temptation  be  at  least  intelligible 
to  the  spectators.  Last  night  the  weakness  of 
Samson  was  not  without  excuse,  for  Mme.  Ger- 
ville-Reache was  a  seductive  apparition. 

"  Saint-Saens 's  music  displayed  her  voice  in 
its  sumptuous  beauty.  The  lower  and  middle 
tones  of  his  voice  are  peculiarly  full  and  rich, 
and  although  the  extreme  upper  tones  are  not 
so  inherently  beautiful  and  not  so  freely 
emitted,  the  singer  used  them  skilfully  for  dra- 
matic purposes.  It  is  an  unusual  voice,  the 
voice  of  Eustacia  Vye,  and  seldom  are  tones  of 
such  truly  contralto  quality  now  heard  on  the 
operatic  stage.  The  voice  alone  should  have 
led  Samson  astray. 


194  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

11  But  Mme.  Gerville-Reache  also  acted  the 
part  with  much  more  than  ordinary  skill.  Her 
facial  expression,  her  gestures  and  attitudes, 
her  nuances  of  sensuous  enticement,  her  inten- 
sity of  passion,  together  with  the  spell  of  her 
voice,  made  her  impersonation  irresistible. 
And  this  performance  was  free  from  extrava- 
gance, nor  in  the  scene  of  seduction  did  she 
become  inartistically  sensual." 

Young  American  women  are  always  anxious 
to  find  the  sure  road  to  success,  and  the  repre- 
sentative of  Musical  America  asked  Madame 
Gerville-Keache  to  give  some  advice  to  operatic 
aspirants.  Although  the  history  of  recent 
years  does  not  indicate  any  lack  of  American 
prima  donnas,  the  comments  of  the  great  singer 
will  be  of  value  to  aspirants  for  operatic 
honors,  and  permission  has  been  given  to  quote 
the  article. 

"  Silly  pride,  or  rather  what  a  lot  of  silly 
girls  call  pride,  is  responsible  for  the  scarcity 
of  native  prima  donnas  in  this  country,"  said 
Mme.  Gerville-Reache,  the  famous  contralto,  in 
Chicago,  the  other  day. 

11  No  sooner  does  a  young  woman  find  she 
can  sing  a  scale  than  she  sets  her  mind  on  be- 
coming an  opera  singer.  This  is  a  pardonable 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       195 

ambition;  what  is  unpardonable,  however,  is 
the  '  proud  '  attitude  the  young  person  begins 
to  assume  toward  all  other  lines  of  musical  en- 
deavor. She  simply  ignores  them  all,  studies 
for  several  years,  learns  three  or  four  parts, 
and  then  calls  on  one  of  the  worthies  who  have 
operatic  roles  to  distribute.  She  may  have  a 
splendid  voice,  she  may  know  the  roles  so  well 
that  she  could  sing  them  backwards,  and  yet  she 
cannot  secure  a  position.  She  cannot  make  a 
debut  in  this  country.  Injustice?  Not  at  all. 
What  would  she  be  good  for? 

"  It  would  take  two  years  of  constant  re- 
hearsing to  fit  her  for  her  first  appearance  and 
then,  let  me  tell  you,  there  is  a  vast  difference 
between  even  a  dress  rehearsal  and  a  public 
performance.  An  opera-house  is  not  a  training 
school.  Training  schools  never  trained  any- 
body anyhow.  You  must  learn  to  do  thin'gs  by 
doing  them.  The  girl  who  is  not  wealthy 
enough  to  go  to  Europe  and  buy  several  appear- 
ances at  some  of  the  microscopic  opera-houses 
one  finds  in  almost  every  German  and  Italian 
city  should  begin  at  the  lowest  rung  of  the 
ladder. 

"  She  should  sing  in  the  chorus  of  a  musical 
comedy  company,  then  be  promoted  to  a  regu- 


196  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

lar  singing  part.  Later  on  she  should  spend 
a  year  or  so  in  the  chorus  of  a  regular  opera 
company.  By  that  time  she  would  have  famil- 
iarized herself  with  almost  every  phase  of  life 
on  the  stage,  with  the  various  stage  conven- 
tions, with  the  orchestra,  with  the  audience. 
She  would  have  learned  to  be  prepared  for  any 
emergency. 

"  Furthermore,  she  would  have  been  self- 
supporting  all  the  time  and  she  would  have  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  real  life.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  majority  of  young  women  conceal 
their  laziness  under  the  mark  of  pride.  Chorus 
singing  being  too  much  like  work,  they  affect  to 
despise  it.  Singing  in  musical  comedy  is  work, 
too,  arduous  work.  Therefore,  they  shun  it. 
It's  too  low  for  girls  from  l  good  families.* 
And  then,  slowly  but  surely  they  go  to  seed, 
some  begging  in  ladylike  fashion  from  patrons 
of  art,  some  teaching,  some  falling  back  on  their 
family  for  support.  And  all  the  while  America 
is  borrowing  from  Europe  singers  who  weren  't 
too  proud  once  to  get  a  training  and  who  now 
capture  all  the  big  fees.  There  are  just  as 
many  good  voices  here  as  in  Europe,  but  the 
fatal  pride  of  too  many  young  women  allows 
most  of  that  good  material  to  go  to  waste." 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       197 

Giovanni  Zenatello  was  brought  to  America 
by  Oscar  Hammerstein  in  1907,  and  made  his 
first  bow  to  American  audiences  at  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  as  Rhadames  in  "  Aida." 
He  was  then  regarded  as  a  tenor  with  a  voice 
of  great  beauty,  power  and  of  fine  virility, — 
"  a  true  tenor  rising  in  the  upper  register  to  a 
delicate  beauty  that  is  delightful.  He  has 
agreeable  stage  presence,  but  the  exuberance 
of  acting  and  delivery  might  well  be  toned 
down.  It  would  be  idle  to  compare  Zenatello 
and  Bonci  or  Caruso.  He  is  more  robust  than 
Bonci  and  undoubtedly  more  capable  of  sing- 
ing a  wider  range  of  parts.  The  manly  quality 
of  his  singing  is  most  pleasant  and  it  is  certain 
that  he  will  have  a  fine  measure  of  success." 

Since  that  time  Zenatello  has  gained  in  every 
branch  of  his  art,  and  is  now  considered  one  of 
the  finest  operatic  tenors  before  the  public  in 
America.  At  the  close  of  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  he  became  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
Opera  Company.  He  also  married  Maria  Gay 
after  a  romantic  courtship  of  four  years. 

Zenatello  is  a  man  of  humble  origin,  with  an 
absorbing  love  for  music,  so  that  he  began  his 
studies  while  earning  his  living  in  other  ways, 
and  although  offered  help  when  his  prospects 


198  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

became  known,  he  preferred  to  win  fame  by  his 
own  efforts,  and  finally  secured  a  debut  at  the 
San  Carlo  Theatre  in  Naples. 

One  of  his  favorite  roles  is  that  of  Pinkerton 
in  "  Madame  Butterfly,"  a  part  which  he  cre- 
ated on  the  production  of  that  opera  at  Brescia 
in  June,  1904.  The  work  did  not  find  favor  with 
the  Italians  and  was  withdrawn.  Puccini  then 
set  to  work  to  revise  it,  and  on  its  reproduction 
at  La  Scala,  when  the  work  proved  to  be  a  great 
success,  Zenatello  was  again  the  Pinkerton. 

Giovanni  Zenatello  is  a  native  of  Verona. 
He  is  short,  well-proportioned  and  fair.  When 
he  first  studied  singing  he  was  taught  as  a  bari- 
tone, but  he  could  not  find  an  engagement  be- 
cause his  voice  sounded  small.  At  last,  in  1898, 
he  succeeded  in  getting  a  contract  as  baritone 
with  a  small  company  at  Naples.  He  sang 
with  this  company  for  a  month  but  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  training,  and  was 
quietly  working  on  tenor  roles.  One  night, 
when  the  opera  to  be  given  was  "  Pagliacci," 
the  regular  tenor  was  taken  ill  and  the  manager 
was  at  his  wits'  end,  when  Zenatello  volun- 
teered, and  sang  the  part  in  fine  style.  For  two 
years  he  continued  to  sing  with  small  com- 
panies until  he  had  saved  up  some  money,  and 


Photograph  by  J.  Williams,  Boston 

GIOVANNI    ZENATELLO   AS   LOEWE   IN    "  GERMANIA 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       199 

then  he  went  to  Milan  and  sought  an  engage- 
ment as  a  tenor.  Now  he  was  successful,  and 
secured  a  debut  at  La  Scala,  after  which  his 
career  was  established. 

Zenatello's  success  at  Covent  Garden  was 
what  led  to  his  engagement  in  New  York,  for 
Madame  Melba  was  singing  at  Covent  Garden 
at  the  same  time  and  was  so  delighted  with  his 
work  that  she  urged  Hammerstein  to  secure 
him.  Hammerstein  acted  on  her  advice  and 
cabled  an  offer  to  him. 

Zenatello's  Otello  is  admirable.  He  lacks 
physical  bulk,  —  his  Moor  is  tall,  spare,  quick 
of  glance  and  alert  of  elastic  movement.  His 
voice  has  penetrating  intensity.  By  every 
token  of  physical  aspect  this  Otello  has  the 
sensitive  and  tense  passions  that  such  a  frame 
often  encloses. 

Mario  Sammarco  is  one  of  those  singers  who 
were  drawn  into  the  profession  in  spite  of  ad- 
verse home  influences.  When  he  was  a  boy  he 
was  infatuated  with  singing  and  with  the  the- 
atre, and  sometimes  used  to  run  away  from 
home  with  his  companions  to  go  to  the  marion- 
ette shows  which  are  to  be  seen  in  all  Italian 
towns.  His  father  urged  him  to  devote  himself 
to  non-musical  studies,  which  he  did,  and  had 


200  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

very  little  time  for  his  vocal  work.  However, 
he  was  determined  to  become  a  singer,  and 
joined  a  choral  class  at  Palermo.  The  director 
noticing  what  a  passion  he  had  for  singing  gave 
him  some  private  lessons,  although  without 
much  faith  in  his  future,  saying  that  his  voice 
was  too  small  to  justify  his  thinking  of  singing 
in  a  theatre.  Later  on  the  teacher  admitted  that 
he  might  perhaps  be  able  to  sing  small  parts. 

It  was  not  until  he  took  the  part  of  Valentine 
in  an  amateur  performance  of  "  Faust,"  given 
by  some  of  his  friends,  that  Sammarco  's  father 
relented.  Several  people  who  were  present  said 
that  he  should  study  for  the  stage  and  the  father 
gave  in.  Sammarco  now  went  to  Cantelli,  a 
singer  who  had  toured  with  Carlotta  Patti,  and 
presently  made  his  debut  in  "  Le  Villi,"  an 
early  opera  of  Puccini's. 

On  his  appearance  in  America  the  following 
review  was  published:  "  The  debut  of  Sam- 
marco makes  claim  for  serious  attention.  Sam- 
marco is  an  Italian  baritone  of  great  renown  in 
Italy,  and  a  favorite  at  Covent  Garden.  He 
sang  the  prologue  to  *  Pagliacci '  in  a  way 
that  brought  the  audience  to  its  feet,  —  Ms 
greeting  was  the  longest  and  loudest  that  has 
befallen  any  new  artist  here  for  years.  He  is 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       201 

an  exquisite  artist  in  the  use  of  his  vocal 
powers.  He  achieves  dramatic  effects  without 
shouting,  and  is  an  actor  of  no  mean  ability. " 

At  the  close  of  the  Manhattan  Opera-House 
Sanimarco  became  a  member  of  the  Chicago- 
Philadelphia  company. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  had  the  gift  of  discover- 
ing that  which  would  create  the  strongest  im- 
pression. He  decided  to  produce  "  Pelleas  et 
Melisande,"  an  opera  composed  by  Debussy,  to 
the  libretto  of  Maurice  Maeterlinck.  This  work 
was  first  produced  in  Paris  in  1902,  and  it  took 
four  years  to  establish  it  in  the  repertoire  of 
the  Opera  Comique,  for  at  first  it  was  anything 
but  a  success,  and  the  people  used  to  whistle  and 
cry  out  during  the  performance.  The  balconies 
and  the  galleries,  so  Miss  Garden  related,  were 
the  first  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  opera. 

One  writer  declared  that  Debussy  had 
achieved  the  perfect  fusion  of  the  arts  of  music, 
of  the  drama,  and  of  the  theatre,  which  is  the 
goal  and  ideal  of  the  opera  in  our  time. 

A  writer  in  a  New  York  paper,  after  hearing 
the  opera  in  1911,  said:  "  It  would  be  impos- 
sible to  conceive  a  finer  vehicle  of  expression 
than  that  invented  by  Debussy  through  the  sim- 
ple, yet  original  process  of  abolishing  rhythm, 


202  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

melody  and  tonality  from  music,  and  thus  leav- 
ing nothing  but  atmosphere.  Membranous 
music  is  the  most  fitting  expression  of  the  char- 
acter of  Melisande.  Yet  it  is  one  of  Mary  Gar- 
den's greatest  parts.  Her  individual  method 
finds  itself  in  most  felicitous  consonance  with 
the  music  of  Debussy.  She,  too,  long  ago,  re- 
vised dramatic  singing  by  the  process  of  elim- 
inating from  it  rhythm,  melody  and  tonality, 
and  thus  in  '  Pelleas  et  Melisande  '  arrives  at 
artistic  territory  which  she  had  spied  out  even 
before  Debussy  had  claimed  it  as  his  own.  .  .  . 
But  there  is  not  a  minute  when  Mary  Garden 
as  Melisande  is  not  beautiful,  —  when  her  pose, 
gesture  and  facial  expression  are  not  perfect 
in  their  dramatic  expression." 

Debussy,  in  discussing  his  music,  is  said  to 
'have  remarked:  "  I  have  been  reproached  be- 
cause in  my  score  the  melodic  phrase  is  always 
in  the  orchestra,  never  in  the  voice.  I  tried  with 
all  my  strength  and  with  all  my  sincerity  to 
identify  my  music  with  the  poetical  essence  of 
the  drama.  I  wished,  intended  in  fact,  that  the 
action  should  never  be  arrested,  that  it  should 
be  continuous,  uninterrupted.  I  wished  to  dis- 
pense with  parasitic  musical  phrases.  When 
listening  to  an  opera  the  spectator  is  wont  to 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       203 

experience  two  kinds  of  emotions  which  are 
quite  distinct,  the  musical  emotion  on  one  hand, 
—  the  emotion  of  the  character  on  the  other. 
Generally  they  are  felt  successively.  I  have 
tried  to  blend  these  two  emotions  and  make 
them  simultaneous.  Melody  is,  if  I  may  say 
so,  almost  anti-lyric,  and  powerless  to  express 
the  constant  change  of  emotion  or  life.  Melody 
is  suitable  only  for  the  song,  which  confirms  a 
fixed  sentiment.  I  have  never  been  willing  that 
my  music  should  hinder,  through  technical 
exigency  the  changes  of  sentiment  and  passion 
felt  by  my  characters.  They  should  have  per- 
fect liberty  in  their  gestures  as  in  their  cries,  in 
their  joy  as  in  their  sorrow." 

When  the  production  of  this  opera  was  an- 
nounced at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House  it  was 
said  by  intelligent  observers  who  had  heard  the 
work  in  Paris,  and  who  had  many  opportunities 
of  seeing  and  judging  the  artistic  calibre  of  the 
New  York  public,  that  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande  ' 
would  strike  over  their  heads,  and  that  many 
listeners  would  be  bored.  The  result  was  quite 
the  contrary,  —  a  large  and  brilliant  audience 
followed  the  work  with  interest  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  fourth  act  there  was  a  sincere 
demonstration  of  approval. 


204  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Oscar  Hammerstein  was  brought  before  the 
curtain  and  made  a  characteristic  little  speech : 
"  If  the  sublime  poetry  and  music  of  this  work 
meet  with  approval  it  places  this  city  at  the 
head  of  any  city  in  the  world  in  its  musical  ap- 
preciation. As  for  me,  my  only  object  in  pro- 
ducing it  was  to  endear  myself  to  you  and  per- 
petuate myself  in  your  memories." 

11  The  work  is  the  most  exotic  ever  attempted 
here  on  the  operatic  stage,"  wrote  another  re- 
viewer after  the  performance.  "  It  is  not  an 
opera,  not  a  music  drama.  It  has  no  '  tunes ;  ' 
it  has  only  a  few  phrases,  that  might  really  be 
taken  to  be  *  motifs.'  There  is  little  about  the 
music  that  is  consecutive,  little  flowing  musical 
speech.  And  after  all  has  been  recorded  that 
is  not  in  this  music  there  still  remains  to  be  told 
what  is  chiefly  in  it  and  upon  what  the  whole 
fabric  rests,  namely  —  mood." 

The  work  was  produced  in  February,  1908, 
with  almost  the  same  cast  which  had  sung  it  in 
Paris.  —  Mary  Garden  as  Melisande,  Jean  Pe- 
rier  as  Pelleas,  Hector  Dufranne  as  Golaud, 
Mile.  Sigrist  as  Yniold,  Madame  Gerville- 
Reache  as  Genevieve.  Arimondi  as  Arkel  and 
Crabbe  as  Le  Medecin  were  not  in  the  Parisian 
cast. 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       205 

In  view  of  the  interest  caused  by  the  extraor- 
dinary musical  work  the  following  description 
of  the  composer  may  be  in  place  here.  It  was 
made  by  a  writer  in  the  Boston  Transcript: 
"  I  met  Debussy,  and  was  struck  by  the  unique 
ugliness  of  the  man.  His  face  is  flat,  his  eyes 
prominent,  —  the  expression  veiled  and  sombre, 
—  and,  altogether,  with  his  long  hair,  unkempt 
beard,  uncouth  clothing,  and  soft  hat,  he  looked 
more  like  a  Croat  or  Hun  than  a  Gaul.  But 
there  is  talent  in  the  man's  face,  unique  talent. 
His  high  cheek  bones  lend  a  Mongolian  aspect 
to  his  face.  The  head  is  brachycephalic,  the 
hair  black.  The  man  is  in  his  music.'* 

Jean  Alexis  Perier,  whose  impersonation  of 
Pelleas  was  considered  by  many  critics  to  be 
inimitable,  was  born  in  1869  in  Paris.  After 
studying  at  the  Conservatoire,  he  gained  first 
prize  for  singing  in  1892,  and  first  prize  for 
opera  comique.  He  sang  at  the  Menus-Pyasirs, 
the  Folies-Dramatiques,  and  the  Bouffe-Pari- 
siens  until,  in  1900,  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Opera  Comique.  His  voice  has  little  sensuous 
charm,  nor  is  his  tonal  delivery  flawless,  but 
his  diction  is  dramatic  and  he  is  an  excellent 
actor. 

Hector  Dufranne  was  born  in  Belgium  and 


206  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

made  his  debut  at  the  La  Monnaie  as  Valentine 
in  "  Faust."  He  filled  an  engagement  at  Co- 
vent  Garden  and  was  then  made  a  member  of 
the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris,  where  he  created 
the  role  of  the  Father  in  "  Louise."  Later  he 
appeared  successfully  as  Golaud  in  "  Pelleas 
et  Melisande."  Dufranne  has  been  regarded 
as  the  possessor  of  the  best  voice  coming  from 
France  since  Pol  Plangon.  He  is  also  a  most 
excellent  actor. 

In  reviewing  the  third  season  of  the  Manhat- 
tan Opera-House,  in  Harper's  Weekly,  Mr. 
Lawrence  Gilman  wrote : ' '  Mr.  Oscar  Hammer- 
stein  continues  in  his  favorite  pastime  of  com- 
passing the  impossible.  He  has  just  brought 
to  a  successful  conclusion  his  third  season  of 
opera  in  New  York.  For  the  third  time,  that 
is  to  say,  he  has  confounded  disinterested  skep- 
tics and  interested  opponents  by  giving  opera 
to  the  manifest  satisfaction  of  his  public,  with- 
out material  support  beyond  that  supplied  by 
himself,  and  in  the  face  of  an  opposition  of  the 
most  formidable  character  —  an  opposition  to 
which  for  three  years  it  has  been  confidently 
predicted  that  he  would  succumb.  This  de- 
ponent is  not  informed  as  to  whether  Mr.  Ham- 
merstein,  by  reason  of  these  activities,  is  richer 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

HECTOR  DUFRANNE  AS  ATHANAEL  IN  "  THAIS 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       207 

or  poorer,  or  whether  his  financial  condition  re- 
mains unaltered.  The  point  of  importance  is 
that  he  is,  as  Mr.  James  would  say,  still '  in  the 
game ;  '  and  that  he  has,  on  the  whole,  kept  faith 
with  his  public.  He  has  given,  during  the 
twenty  weeks  of  the  season  just  past,  perform- 
ances of  opera  which  have  at  least  equalled  in 
interest  and  excellence  those  of  the  far  more 
resourceful  institution  which  is  his  rival;  and 
he  has,  for  the  most  part,  made  good  his  prom- 
ises and  fulfilled  the  expectations  which  he 
aroused. 

"  The  production  of  *  Salome  '  was  brilliant, 
impressive,  memorable  —  one  of  the  most  ef- 
fective that  Mr.  Hammerstein  has  accom- 
plished; the  performances  of  *  Tosca  '  have 
not,  in  certain  respects,  been  equalled  in  New 
York;  those  of  l  Othello  '  and  '  Samson  et 
Dalila  '  were  both  admirable. 

11  Certain  other  performances,  of  familiar 
works,  remain  pleasurably  in  the  memory  by 
virtue  either  of  effectiveness  of  ensemble  or 
brilliancy  of  individual  impersonation  —  as 
that  of  *  La  Boheme,'  with  Melba,  Gilibert, 
Zenatello,  Sammarco,  and  De  Segurola ;  *  Bigo- 
letto,'  with  Mr.  Renaud  as  the  tragic  Jester; 
'  Louise,'  because  of  the  personations  of  Miss 


208  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Garden,  Mr.  Gilibert,  Mr.  Dalmores ;  '  Les 
Contes  d 'Hoffmann,'  because  of  the  marked 
effectiveness  of  the  performance  as  a  whole. 

"  Of  individual  achievements  none  has  been 
more  remarkable  than  that  of  Miss  Garden. 
To  impersonate,  even  acceptably,  such  ex- 
tremely diverse  characters  as  Melisande,  Sa- 
lome, Louise,  Jean  the  Juggler,  would  be  suf- 
ficiently noteworthy ;  yet  in  each  of  these  roles 
Miss  Garden  was  far  more  than  acceptable :  she 
was  always  eloquent  and  often  inimitable.  The 
unfaltering  accuracy  with  which  she  differen- 
tiated these  types  and  exposed  their  character- 
istics was  beyond  praise.  This  lyric  actress  has 
definitely  established  herself  as  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  subtle  histrions  now  on  the  stage. 
Her  dramatic  instinct  is  unerring,  her  skill  is 
extraordinary.  The  Melisande  which  she  has 
now  exhibited  during  two  seasons  is  an  inter- 
pretation of  exquisite  and  touching  veracity  — 
one  of  the  most  perfect  things  that  the  modern 
theatre  can  show;  but  her  Salome,  her  Thais, 
her  Louise,  are  scarcely  less  successful.  Miss 
Garden  has  been  the  most  brilliant  adornment 
of  the  Manhattan's  season,  as,  indeed,  she  was 
of  the  one  which  preceded  it.  It  is  pleasant  to 
see  that  Mr,  Hammerstein  apparently  appre- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       209 

elates  his  possession  of  this  astonishing 
artist. 

' '  In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Man- 
hattan's  third  season  has  been,  if  less  stimula- 
ting and  memorable  than  its  predecessor,  rich 
in  interest.  The  quality  of  its  proceedings  has 
been  of  a  well-sustained  excellence,  and  they 
have  had  the  indispensable  element  of  vitality. ' ' 

During  his  third  season,  1908-1909,  Mr.  Ham- 
merstein  relied  still  more  upon  new  productions 
than  upon  great  singers,  though  he  had  a  good 
assortment  of  singers.  In  his  announcement 
for  the  season  Hammerstein  promised  a  large 
number  of  new  operas,  according  to  the  habit 
of  the  impresario,  and  during  the  season  he 
fulfilled  more  than  the  average  amount  of  prom- 
ises. The  total  record  of  the  season  was  as 
follows:  In  French  —  "  Salome  "  (10  perform- 
ances), "  Thais  "  (7),  "  Le  Jongleur  de  Notre 
Dame  "  (7),  "  Les  Contes  d'Hoffmann  "  (7), 
"Samson  et  Dalila  "  (6),  "Louise"  (5), 
"  Pelleas  et  Melisande  "  (4),  "  Princesse  d'Au- 
berge  "  (3),  "  Carmen  "  (2),  "  La  Navar- 
raise  "  (1).  In  Italian  —  "Lucia"  (7) 
"  Otello  "  (6),  "  Tosca  "  (5),  "  Cavalleria 
Eusticana"  (5),  "I  Pagliacci  "  (5),  "  Eigo- 
letto  "  (5),  "  La  Traviata  "  (5),  "  La  Bo 


210  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

heme  "  (5),  "II  Barbiere  "  (3),  "  Crispino  e 
la  Comare  "  (3),  "La  Sonnambula  "  (3), 
"  Les  Huguenots  "  (2),  "  Aida  "  (2),  "  I  Puri- 
tani  "  (2),  "II  Trovatore  "  (1).  There  was 
also  one  performance  of  the  prologue  to 
Boito's  "  Mefistofele,"  one  of  the  carnival 
scene  from  "  Princesse  d'Auberge,"  two  of  the 
pantomime  "  La  Chair,"  and  three  of  the  pan- 
tomime "  La  Mort  de  Cleopatre." 

Of  these  Massenet's  "  Jongleur  de  Notre 
Dame  "  and  Blockx's  "  Princess  d'Auberge  ' 
were  absolutely  new  to  New  York,  but  the  pro- 
ductions of  "  Salome  "  with  Mary  Garden  in 
the  title  role,  of  "  Otello,"  "  Tosca  "  and 
"  Samson  et  Dalila,"  in  which  latter  Madame 
Gerville-Reache  excelled,  were  considered  supe- 
rior to  any  representations  of  these  operas 
that  had  been  seen  in  this  country.  Moreover, 
Salome  had  apparently  become  part  of  the  cus- 
tomary diet  of  the  New  York  opera  goer. 

Of  the  singers  Mary  Garden  showed  won- 
derful versatility  and  power,  distinguishing 
herself  in  such  diverse  roles  as  Melisande,  Sa- 
lome, Louise,  Jean  the  Juggler,  Thais.  Ma- 
dame Melba  was  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  for  a  brief  season  of  two  weeks.  Ma- 
dame Tetrazzini  appeared  frequently  in  the 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       211 

coloratura  roles.  M.  Renaud  justified  his  repu- 
tation as  a  singing  actor. 

The  new  singers  of  the  season  were  Madame 
Labia,  Madame  Mariska  Aldrich,  Madame 
Doria,  Signor  Sammarco,  an  excellent  baritone, 
Hector  Dufranne  and  Vieulle. 

Maria  Labia  first  appeared  in  America  in 
the  season  of  1908-1909  as  a  member  of  the 
Manhattan  Company.  She  is  a  member  of  an 
old  Venetian  family,  one  of  her  ancestors,  it 
is  said,  was  a  member  of  the  celebrated  "  Coun- 
cil of  Ten,"  whose  methods  are  revealed  by 
Lord  Byron  in  "  The  Doge  of  Venice." 

Her  father  lost  his  fortune  and  died,  leaving 
his  widow  with  three  daughters  to  educate  and 
start  in  life.  The  oldest  became  a  dramatic 
soprano,  married  and  retired.  The  second  be- 
came a  violinist,  and  the  third,  Maria,  entered 
upon  an  operatic  career. 

It  is  related  that  Maria's  grandmother  was 
an  excellent  singer,  and  knew  all  the  florid 
music  of  her  day,  having  learned  from  some  of 
the  most  celebrated  masters  who  flourished 
about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
She  taught  her  daughter,  who  was  a  contralto 
and  who  married  early,  and  sang  only  in  pri- 
vate. She,  however,  was  able  to  impart  her 


212  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

knowledge  to  her  children,  as  above  rela- 
ted. 

Maria  appeared  first  in  concert,  singing  in 
Milan,  and  then  in  Russia.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  she  accepted  an  invitation  to  go  to 
Stockholm  and  sing  in  a  season  of  Italian 
opera,  after  she  had  finished  her  concert  tour 
in  Russia.  She  sang  Mimi,  Nedda,  Santuzza 
and  Marguerite,  but  she  soon  realized  that  her 
voice  was  developing  into  a  dramatic,  rather 
than  a  lyric  soprano. 

She  now  went  to  Berlin,  learning  German 
and  studying  the  parts  of  Tosca,  Carmen  and 
Maria  in  "  Tiefland,"  which  latter  role  she  cre- 
ated and  sang  eighty  times. 

On  her  first  American  appearance  the  fol- 
lowing criticism  is  one  of  the  most  reliable: 
"  Madame  Labia  not  only  has  youthfulness 
(she  was  said  to  be  only  twenty- three)  and 
loveliness  of  form  and  feature  to  commend 
her,  —  she  has  also  youthfulness  and  loveli- 
ness of  voice,  and  a  splendid  complement  of 
dramatic  talent.  Her  facial  expressions,  her 
movements,  her  poses  all  publish  a  vitality 
which  make  one  harmony  with  her  exuberant 
vocal  expression.  There  is  splendid  metal, 
clear  and  ringing,  in  her  voice,  and  it  is  sur- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       213 

charged  with  emotion.  In  quality,  especially 
in  the  upper  register,  it  frequently  brings  re- 
minders of  the  youthful  Calve,  but  its  utterance 
is  more  untrammelled,  more  spontaneous." 

In  these  latter  days  all  successful  singers  are 
induced  to  express  opinions  on  some  subject  of 
general  interest,  and  Miss  Labia  was  attacked 
on  the  subject  of  matrimony,  as  regards  pro- 
fessional singers.  She  declared  that  "  no 
woman  can  be  a  great  artist,  and  a  good  wife 
and  mother  at  the  same  time.  If  she  attempts 
it  she  will  either  neglect  her  home  for  the  sake 
of  art,  or  will  sacrifice  her  art  to  good  house- 
keeping." There  is  doubtless  much  truth  in 
this  assertion,  and  yet  we  can  point  to  several 
excellent  singers  who  are  admirable  mothers. 
We  are  not  in  a  position  to  express  any  opinion 
as  to  their  housekeeping  ability. 

Madame  Labia  was  considered  excellent  as 
Tosca,  and  worthy  of  much  admiration  in  othei 
parts.  She  was  the  most  astisfactory  among 
the  women  singers  who  were  new  during  the 
season  of  1909-1910,  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House. 

Madame  Mariska  Aldrich  is  an  American 
and  was  born  in  Boston.  She  married  J.  Frank 
Aldrich,  formerly  representative  in  Congress 


214  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

from  Illinois,  and  studied  in  Paris  with  Alfred 
Giraudet  for  two  years  before  making  her  de- 
but. While  in  Paris  she  met  and  was  heard 
by  Oscar  Hammerstein,  who  engaged  her  for 
the  Manhattan  Opera-House  on  a  contract  for 
five  years,  to  alternate  between  his  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  houses.  She  was  to  take  the 
place  of  Madame  de  Cisneros,  who  had  gone  to 
Europe,  and  she  made  her  debut  at  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House,  in  1908,  in  "  Samson  et 
Dalila." 

She  is  a  woman  of  much  personal  charm  and 
was  compared  with  Madame  de  Cisneros.  She 
was  tall  and  more  slender  than  de  Cisneros. 
Her  features  and  coloring  were  perfect  and  she 
had  a  charm  of  manner  that  amounted  to  mag- 
netism. 

Madame  Aldrich  began  her  serious  study 
with  Madame  Cappiani,  the  well-known  teacher 
of  New  York,  and  with  Vianesi.  Then  she 
studied  with  Randegger  and  Darewski  in  Lon- 
don, who  prophesied  an  operatic  future  for  her. 

Her  maiden  name  was  Mariska  de  Norvath, 
and  she  at  first  intended  to  make  her  debut  in 
Paris  under  that  name,  but  when  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein  engaged  her  she  decided  to  appear  in  her 
native  land  under  her  married  name. 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       215 

Madame  Aldricli  is  the  mother  of  several 
children  and  in  this  respect  has  been  compared 
with  Madame  Schumann-Heink. 

She  declared  that  she  would  not  sing  Wag- 
ner until  she  was  thirty  years  of  age.  Madame 
Aldrich  sings  in  six  languages  and  speaks  five. 

Notwithstanding  the  "  five  years'  contract  r 
with  Hammerstein,  Madame  Aldrich  appeared 
in  1909  as  a  member  of  the  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany. 

Augusta  Doria  is  the  stage  name  of  Augusta 
Klous,  a  Boston  girl,  who  made  her  first  Ameri- 
can appearance  in  grand  opera  in  Philadel- 
phia in  November,  1908.  In  her  younger  days 
Miss  Klous  lived  in  the  South  End  of  Boston, 
and  developed  the  great  ambition  to  be  an  opera 
singer.  She  tried  for  a  church  position  but 
was  nervous  and  could  not  sing  well  at  sight, 
moreover,  she  had  then  taken  but  few  lessons 
in  singing.  But  she  had  a  voice  of  deep  con- 
tralto of  extraordinary  richness  and  beauty. 

Presently  she  secured  an  engagement  in  light 
opera,  and  joined  the  "  Prince  Pro  Tern  ' 
company,  which  was  playing  at  the  Boston 
Museum.  This  was  in  1893.  After  some  time 
she  managed  to  get  to  Berlin  where  she  became 
a  pupil  of  Julius  Hess.  She  returned  to  Bos- 


216  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ton  in  1894  and  gave  a  concert  at  Chickering 
Hall,  when  the  critics  praised  her  voice  and  ad- 
vised further  study,  —  study  for  opera.  Need- 
ing more  money  she  joined  the  "  Parlor 
Match  "  company,  managed  by  Evans  and 
Hoey,  and  towards  the  end  of  1895  she  was 
able  to  go  to  Vannucini  in  Florence.  Here 
again  she  met  with  some  obstacles,  of  which  not 
the  least  was  poor  health. 

Miss  Klous  now  proceeded  to  London  and 
sang  at  various  social  affairs,  but  soon  turned 
up  in  Paris,  where  she  studied  with  Bax  until 
his  death,  —  then  with  Verquet,  the  famous 
tenor.  At  last  her  opportunity  came  and  she 
made  her  debut  at  Monte  Carlo,  as  Emilia  in 
"  Otello." 

She  now  became  a  pupil  of  Madame  Mar- 
chesi,  and  soon  Carre  engaged  her  for  the  Opera 
Comique,  but  she  never  sang  there.  Instead 
she  accepted  an  engagement  at  the  Monnaie,  in 
Brussels,  and  appeared  on  November  20,  1900, 
as  Brangaene  in  "  Tristan  und  Isolde." 

In  1902  she  was  a  member  of  the  opera  com- 
pany at  Rouen,  and  created  a  role  in  a  posthu- 
mous opera  of  Godard's  entitled  "  Les 
Guelfes."  She  also  sang  a  season  at  Antwerp. 

Miss  Klous  married  a  Belgian,  and  became 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       217 

known  as  Madame  Doria.  In  1908  she  joined 
Oscar  Hammerstein  's  forces  at  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House  and  made  her  American  debut  in 
Philadelphia  as  Delilah.  She  met  with  instan- 
taneous success,  her  voice,  skill,  beauty  and  his- 
trionic ability  being  quickly  recognized  and 
warmly  praised.  Her  first  appearance  in  New 
York  was  on  December  16  of  the  same  year,  as 
Nicklausse  in  "  Les  Contes  d 'Hoffmann." 
She  also  sang  Emilia  in  "  Otello  "  with  Melba, 
Zenatello,  and  Sammarco. 

During  her  engagement  at  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House  she  sang  in  "  Aida,"  "  II  Trova- 
tore,"  "  Tannhauser,"  "  Herodiade  '  and 
other  operas.  At  the  conclusion  of  her  engage- 
ment she  returned  to  Europe,  and  filled  long 
engagements  in  Italy  and  St.  Petersburg,  and 
in  March,  1912,  she  made  a  success  in  Paris,  at 
the  Municipal  Theatre  of  La  Gaite,  in  the  lead- 
ing tfole  in  "La  Favorita,"  her  interpretation 
of  this  part  being  called  a  true  musical  treat. 
She  also  sang  "  Herodiade  "  in  Paris  and  was 
complimented  by  the  composer  of  that  opera. 

In  1909  Mr.  Hammerstein  gave  a  preliminary 
season  of  opera  at  popular  prices,  meeting  with 
fair  artistic  success  but  with  a  financial  deficit 
estimated  at  $50,000.  During  this  season  Mar- 


218  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

guerite  Sylva  made  her  first  appearance  on 
September  1,  in  "  Carmen,"  and  on  Septem- 
mer  9,  Eva  Grippon,  a  French  dramatic  so- 
prano, and  Paul  Duffault,  a  French  tenor,  made 
their  American  debut. 

On  November  the  4th  the  regular  season 
commenced  with  the  first  performance  in 
America  of  Massenet's  "  Herodiade,"  which 
was  well  staged  and  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
great  successes  of  the  year. 

Massenet's  "  Sapho  "  was  given  for  the  first 
time  in  this  country  on  November  17,  1909, 
with  Mary  Garden,  Trentini,  Alvarez,  Lackin, 
and  Dufranne.  Massenet's  "  Griselda  "  was 
also  given  its  American  premiere  with  Mary 
Garden  in  the  principal  part. 

On  November  26  "  Tosca  "  was  given,  intro- 
ducing Carmen  Melis  to  the  American  public. 

But  the  greatest  operatic  event  of  the  season 
was  the  production  of  Richard  Strauss 's  opera 
"  Elektra,"  with  Madame  Mazarin  as  Elektra, 
and  Madame  Gerville-Eeache  as  Clytemnestra 
(she  was  afterwards  replaced  by  Madame 
Doria).  Madame  Mazarin  is  a  French  dra- 
matic soprano,  a  great  tragedienne  and  singer, 
and  she  held  the  audience  spellbound. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  season  "  Lakme  " 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       219 

was  given  with  Madame  Tetrazzini  in  the  title 
role. 

Thirty  operas  were  given,  —  eighteen 
French,  nine  Italian,  three  German,  —  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  performances. 

In  the  year  1908  there  loomed  upon  the 
operatic  horizon  another  work  by  Richard 
Strauss,  said  to  be  more  nauseating  than 
"  Salome."  This  was  "  Elektra,"  a  modern 
version  by  Hugo  von  Hoffmannsthal  of  an  old 
Greek  tragedy.  Before  it  was  performed  in 
Dresden  Oscar  Hammerstein  announced  that 
he  had  received  from  Richard  Strauss  the  ex- 
clusive rights  to  his  opera  "  Elektra  "  in  the 
United  States,  and  a  date  was  fixed  for  the  first 
performance  in  January,  1910.  This  had  to  be 
deferred  and  the  production  actually  took  place 
on  February  the  first  of  that  year. 

There  was  much  interest  exhibited  in  the 
production  of  '  *  Elektra. ' '  A  correspondent  in 
Dresden  wrote  in  regard  to  the  libretto  and 
music:  "  A  wave  of  uncompromising  sensuality 
has  spread  over  German  literature  in  recent 
years;  its  expression  is  most  pronounced,  as 
it  is  most  easily  distinguishable,  in  the  products 
of  the  stage.  .  .  .  This  tendency  in  all  its  un- 
mitigated unhealthiness  seems  to  have  taken 


220  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

firm  hold  of  Richard  Strauss.  In  its  extreme, 
undisciplined  expression  it  probably  appeals 
most  strongly  to  his  special  talent  for  finding 
the  most  frequent  expression  for  violent,  lurid 
effects.  ...  If  the  orchestral  apparatus  was 
unprecedently  ambitious  in  *  Salome,'  it  has 
not  grown  less  so  for  '  Elektra. '  A  body  of 
instrumentalists  that  can  hardly  be  placed  in 
even  our  largest  theatres,  have  tasks  set  them 
which  rival  in  difficulty  only  those  of  the  solo- 
ists on  the  stage.  In  the  matter  of  the  exacting 
quality  of  the  new  music  all  previous  standards 
must  be  set  aside.  The  seemingly  impossible 
has  been  accomplished,  — '  Salome  '  has  been 
outdone.  .  .  .  Incontestable,  at  first  blush,  is 
the  stupendous  cleverness  in  devising  new  and 
surprising  tone  effects,  and  further  an  inven- 
tiveness that  piles  Pelion  on  Ossa,  climax  on 
climax,  to  such  an  extent  that  ere  we  have 
reached  the  culminating  scene  one's  powers  of 
receptivity  are  fairly  exhausted.  The  final  pic- 
ture, where  Elektra  in  an  ecstasy  of  gloating 
vengeance  prances  about  the  stage  with  hideous 
maniac  contortions,  is  assuredly  as  abhorrent 
a  picture  of  all  that  is  disgusting  as  can  be 
imagined. ' ' 

In  this  opera  one  of  the  new  orchestral  ef- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       221 

fects  was  produced  by  beating  the  bass  drum 
with  birch  rods.  In  "  Salome  '  the  snare 
drums  take  part  of  their  punishment  from 
wooden  hammers. 

There  are  several  amusing  and  some  serious 
anecdotes  regarding  the  first  performance  of 
the  opera.  The  regular  singers  of  the  opera 
house  declined  one  after  another  to  take  lead- 
ing roles  and  eventually  the  part  of  Elektra 
was  taken  by  Lucille  Marcel.  Madame  Krull 
was  the  first  singer  cast  for  the  part,  and  the 
following  anecdote  is  told  of  an  event  at  a  re- 
hearsal. Richard  Strauss  called  out  to  Madame 
Krull,  '  *  You  must  be  still  more  hateful  in  your 
acting  of  that  speech."  She  did  not  hear,  but 
Madame  Schumann-Heink,  who  was  standing 
forward  on  the  stage,  caught  what  the  composer 
said,  and  addressing  Madame  Krull  inter- 
preted thus,  "  The  Royal  General  Music  Di- 
rector says  you  must  be  still  more  like  a  col- 
league in  your  manner  of  expression." 

It  was  reported  that  Herr  Schuch,  the  con- 
ductor, strained  a  muscle  in  his  arm  trying  to 
bring  out  the  full  force  of  the  orchestration. 
Madame  Schumann-Heink  after  three  perform- 
ances was  so  hoarse  that  she  had  to  postpone 
her  appearance  at  the  Royal  Opera  in  Berlin, 


222  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  when  she  was  asked  to  sing  the  part  of 
Klytemnestra  in  America  she  declared  vehe- 
mently that  she  would  not  sing  it  for  $3000  a 
performance  though  she  had  many  children  and 
needed  the  money,  but  the  horror  of  being 
chased  by  the  insane  and  murderous  Elektra 
was  too  much  for  her. 

Once  von  Schuch  rapped  for  silence  in 
the  orchestra:  "  That  part,  gentlemen,"  said 
he,  "  we  will  repeat;  moreover,  with  all  your 
power.  It  was  not  satisfactory  the  first  time. 
I  thought  I  heard  the  voice  of  a  singer. ' ' 

A  critic  from  London  wrote:  "  You  either 
love  it  or  loathe  it.  The  one  thing  certain  is 
that,  if  you  take  any  interest  in  the  modern 
development  of  musical  art,  you  cannot  ignore 
it." 

After  the  opening  performance  in  New  York, 
Madame  Mazarin,  who  took  the  part  of  Elektra, 
was  asked  as  to  her  feelings.  She  declared 
that  she  had  neither  eaten  nor  slept  for  two 
weeks,  while  rehearsing  the  part. 

"  Elektra  is  a  tragic  embodiment  of  ven- 
geance," she  said,  "  but  it  is  vengeance  gone 
mad.  You  go  mad  yourself  in  singing  it.  To 
make  your  face  a  mask  of  terror  is  simple 
enough.  But  to  communicate  your  terror  to 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       223 

every  individual  in  those  dim  rows  beyond  the 
footlights  you  must  have  something  more  than 
facial  contortion;  you  must  put  your  soul  into 
your  eyes,  and  it  is  not  always  so  easy  to  man- 
age your  soul." 

Madame  Mazarin  fainted  with  exhaustion  at 
the  end  of  the  first  performance.  Madame  Ger- 
ville-Reache,  who  sang  Klytemnestra,  resigned 
her  part  permanently  and  was  replaced  by  Ma- 
dame Doria. 

In  London  the  part  of  Elektra  was  taken  by 
Edythe  Walker,  an  American  singer  who  has 
been  mentioned  in  these  pages.  She  was  con- 
sidered inimitable  in  the  part.  Her  acting  was 
superb  and  singing  a  little  short  of  wonderful. 
Miss  Walker  said  that  she  was  always  exhausted 
and  unable  to  move  for  some  time  after  each 
performance.  Then  she  would  have  a  thorough 
massage  and  a  good  supper,  and  she  felt  all 
right  the  next  day. 

The  performance  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  was  considered  a  great  success.  The 
artists  were  adequate,  the  orchestra  and  scen- 
ery were  excellent,  and  so  were  the  box  office 
receipts  which  are  said  to  have  amounted  to 
$19,000.  But  how  about  the  audience? 

Reports  say  that  the  audience  departed  si- 


224  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

lently,  most  of  them  showing  signs  of  the  hor- 
rible experience  which  they  had  just  undergone. 

The  production  of  "  Elektra  "  was  the  chief 
sensation  of  1910.  This  opera  of  Richard 
Strauss,  when  produced  in  Germany,  Austria 
and  Italy,  had  caused,  in  each  country,  a  tre- 
mendous sensation,  and  in  New  York  it  did  not 
fail  to  provide  critics  and  public  with  matter 
for  pen  and  tongue.  Mr.  Hammerstein  warned 
his  patrons  that  this  was  no  ordinary  opera. 
"  Don't  be  bamboozled,"  he  said,  "  with  the 
idea  that  '  Elektra  '  is  musical  rot;  that  it  is 
artistically  '  impossible;  '  that  it  is  composed 
by  a  mad  man  to  a  poem  written  by  a  mad  man 
about  a  mad  woman,  and  possibly  that  only  a 
mad  impresario  would  think  of  producing  it. 
That  is  all  current  cant.  Forget  it ! 

"To  be  sure,  it  is  difficult,  excessively  diffi- 
cult, for  both  the  orchestra  and  the  singers  to 
learn  and  interpret.  Strauss  has  unquestion- 
ably gone  the  limit.  He  has  travelled  close  to 
the  North  Pole,  but  there  is  no  Dr.  Cook  fake 
about  his  adventure.  The  proof  is  there  in  the 
score,  in  its  real  music.  Quite  true  he  casts 
aside  the  sensuously  beautiful  time  and  time 
again ;  he  lays  on  the  color  with  his  brasses  in 
pretty  thick  daubs  now  and  then.  He  is  not 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       225 

chary  in  using  discords,  awful  discords,  when 
he  wishes ;  but  he  means  something  every  time 
he  does  it.  He  intends  to  express  a  hateful  idea 
or  portray  an  ugly  emotion.  He  can  be  just  as 
beautiful  in  his  musical  expression  when  he 
musically  illustrates  the  recognition  of  brother 
and  sister  and  the  love  which  binds  them  one 
to  the  other." 

A  few  excerpts  from  the  writings  of  the 
critics  concerning  this  remarkable  opera  may 
be  permitted. 

Mr.  Arthur  Farwell  wrote  in  Musical  Amer- 
ica: "  One  might  remark  upon  the  innumerable 
extraordinary  things  which  Strauss  makes  the 
orchestral  instruments  do,  but  to  describe  these 
would  only  mislead  one  into  supposing  that 
such  startling  effects  dominate  over  lyrical 
beauty,  which  is  not  the  case.  The  horrors  of 
the  drama  are  from  first  to  last  enveloped  in  an 
ideal  lyrical  atmosphere,  so  that  one  knows  not 
whether  he  is  torn  most  by  the  awfulness  of  the 
story  or  enchanted  most  with  the  infinite  lyrical 
magic  of  this  music.  So  complex  is  the  tonal 
web  that  the  unusual  dissonances  fall  into  their 
natural  place  and  pass  by  almost  unnoticed." 

That  this  view  of  the  case  was  not  shared  by 
all  alike  is  shown  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Henderson  in 


226  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

The  Sun:  "  The  orchestral  background  is  one 
vast  kaleidoscope  of  continually  changing 
color.  Jarring  discords,  the  desperate  battle 
of  dissonances  in  one  key  against  dissonances 
in  another,  settle  themselves  down  into  total  de- 
lineations of  shrieks  and  groans,  of  tortures 
physical  in  their  clean  definition  and  audible  in 
their  gross  realism. 

"  Can  you  conceive  of  the  inward  scream  of 
a  conscience  in  the  flames  of  the  inferno  being 
translated  into  polyphonic  utterances  of  instru- 
ments writhing  in  a  counterpoint  no  longer  re- 
quired to  be  the  composition  of  two  or  more 
melodies  which  shall  harmonize  with  one  an- 
other, but  of  melodies  which  shall  spit  and 
scratch  and  claw  at  one  another  like  enraged 
panthers  I 

11  Snarling  of  stopped  trumpets,  barking  of 
trombones,  moaning  of  bassoons  and  squealing 
of  violins  are  but  elementary  factors  in  the 
musical  system  of  Richard  Strauss." 

And  Mr.  Finck  in  The  Post  wrote:  "  If  the 
reader  who  has  not  heard  '  Elektra  '  desires  to 
witness  something  that  looks  as  its  orchestral 
score  sounds,  let  him,  next  summer,  poke  a 
stick  into  an  ant  hill  and  watch  the  black  in- 
sects darting,  angry  and  bewildered,  biting  and 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       227 

clawing  in  a  thousand  directions  at  once.  It's 
amusing  for  ten  minutes,  but  not  for  two  hours. 
Is  this  progress? 

"  Is  it  progress  to  use  the  human  voice  as 
Strauss  does?  Madame  Schumann-Heink,  who 
is  noted  for  her  robust  voice,  found  the  strain 
of  singing  Clytemnestra,  in  Dresden,  so  great 
that  she  resigned  after  the  first  performance. 
She  has  related  how,  when  conductor  Schuch, 
out  of  regard  for  the  singers,  moderated  the 
orchestral  din,  Strauss  declared,  *  But  I  don't 
care  a  hang  about  the  voice ;  I  want  the  orches- 
tra fortissimo !  '  At  the  Manhattan,  Mr.  De  la 
Fuente  probably  used  too  weak  a  dynamic  scale, 
for  the  voices  were  usually  audible,  and  once 
in  a  while  one  could  actually  understand  the 
words." 

Mr.  Krehbiel  in  The  Tribune  writes:  "  The 
noise  of  the  explosion  of  *  Elektra  '  is  over. 
How  long  will  the  reverberations  last?  Until 
public  curiosity  is  satisfied.  Not  a  moment 
later.  That  has  been  the  story  of  Richard 
Strauss 's  operas  from  the  beginning.  Each  is 
looked  forward  to  with  the  expectation  that  it 
will  provide  a  sensation,  a  new  thrill.  The 
sensation  having  been  felt,  the  thrill  experi- 
enced, there  is  an  end  of  the  matter.  Such  art 


228  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

works  are  not  like  jealousy,  '  which  doth  make 
the  meat  it  feeds  on. '  Interest  burns  itself  out 
speedily  because  it  finds  no  healthy  nourishment 
in  them;  nothing  to  warm  the  emotions,  exalt 
the  mind,  permanently  to  charm  the  senses, 
awaken  the  desire  for  frequent  companionship 
or  foster  a  taste  like  that  created  by  contempla- 
tion of  the  true,  the  beautiful  and  the  good." 

"  Salome  "  repelled  many  people  on  account 
of  its  disgusting  details.  "  Elektra  "  gave 
the  audience  cause  for  reflection.  The  opera 
was  briefly  described  thus :  * t  It  is  a  story  of  an 
unceasing  cry  for  revenge  on  the  part  of  Elek- 
tra. Her  father  Agamemnon  has  been  slain  by 
her  mother,  Klytemnestra,  and  the  latter 's 
paramour,  ^Egisthus.  The  brother,  Orestes, 
has  been  banished.  Between  waiting  for 
Orestes,  loathing  her  mother,  and  despising 
^Egisthus,  endeavoring  to  lash  the  soul  of  the 
sister,  Chrystothemis,  into  a  revengeful  fury, 
Elektra  turns  into  a  mad  creature.  She  slinks 
about  the  stage  in  rags,  her  eyes  wild  and  her 
soul  aflame  with  rage.  She  digs  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  castle  to  find  the  axe  which  slew 
her  father,  —  digs  like  a  dog  seeking  a  buried 
bone.  The  news  is  brought  to  her  that  her 
brother,  Orestes,  is  dead.  She  decides  to  do  the 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       229 

deed  herself.  Orestes  arrives  disguised,  and 
the  murder  is  accomplished. 

"  The  score  simply  drips  cacophony.  It  re- 
quires an  orchestra  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
instruments,  and  pays  no  regard  at  all  to  the 
human  voice,  on  which  the  demands  are  super- 
human." 

Grand  opera  is  classed  under  the  head  of 
"  amusements." 

Mariette  Mazarin  is  a  thoroughly  French 
singing  actress.  She  intended  at  first  to  be  an 
actress  and  was  trained  for  that  purpose  by 
Lelois  at  the  Paris  Conservatoire.  But  M.  Las- 
san  discovered  that  she  had  a  voice,  and  she 
changed  her  mind  about  her  career  and  studied 
singing  under  Lassan  until  she  made  her  debut, 
which  took  place  at  the  Paris  Opera-House  in 
"  Aida."  After  this  she  had  engagements  in 
several  cities  of  Europe  before  she  was  brought 
to  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  Here  Ma- 
dame Mazarin  made  a  sensational  appearance 
as  Elektra,  on  its  production  in  New  York, 
January  29,  1910.  Although  she  had  witnessed 
a  performance  of  the  part  by  Madame  Krull  at 
Cologne,  she  did  not  begin  to  study  it  herself 
until  New  Year 's  day,  less  than  a  month  before 
the  first  performance. 


230  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Madame  Mazarin  was  described  as  beautiful, 
young,  witty,  piquant,  magnetic,  intellectual, 
sentimental,  tactful,  and  everything  charming. 
A  little  romance  was  connected  with  her  visit 
to  America  inasmuch  as  her  devoted  admirer, 
Pierre  Louzy,  a  poor  student  from  Paris,  fol- 
lowed her  to  this  country  and  prevailed  on  her 
to  marry  him.  The  wedding  took  place  on  De- 
cember 7,  1909,  and  was  done  secretly,  as  the 
happy  couple  feared  that  it  might  be  displeas- 
ing to  the  impresario.  It  was  not  at  all  dis- 
pleasing to  the  newspaper  reporters.  Some- 
thing of  the  romance  was  dimmed  by  the  fact 
that  Louzy  is  the  second  husband. 

Although  she  was  one  of  the  singers  engaged 
by  Mr.  Hammerstein  at  the  opening  of  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House,  Madame  Mazarin  did  not 
come  into  prominent  notice  until  after  her 
startling  impersonation  of  Elektra. 

Of  Madame  Mazarin 's  interpretation  of  the 
part  of  Elektra,  at  the  production  of  Strauss 's 
opera  of  that  name  in  New  York,  Mr.  Finck 
says :  '  *  The  chief  honors  went  to  Mariette  Ma- 
zarin, whose  Elektra  will  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  most  powerful  and  repulsively  fascina- 
ting impersonations  ever  witnessed  on  the 
operatic  stage.  She  could  hardly  have  achieved 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       231 

such  a  result  had  she  not  been  an  actress  before 
she  went  on  the  operatic  stage.  In  sordid  at- 
tire, fanatical  facial  expression  and  mad  ges- 
ture, she  was  the  exact  embodiment  of  the  text 
and  the  music,  striking  terror  into  the  heart  at 
the  gruesome  climaxes,  especially  the  digging 
for  the  axe,  and  the  moments  when  the  king 
and  queen  are  being  murdered.  When  both 
were  dead,  wonderful  was  the  change  in  her  face 
—  a  look  of  triumph  which  was  reflected  in  the 
music,  and  makes  its  closing  pages  an  atone- 
ment for  all  that  had  gone  before.  She  actu- 
ally sang  the  music  allotted  to  her  throughout 
the  opera,  though  it  makes  cruel  demands  upon 
the  voice.  The  mad  whirl  of  the  dance  of  death 
exhausted  her  so  completely  that  when  she  ap- 
peared with  the  other  singers  before  the  cur- 
tain, in  response  to  tumultuous  applause,  she 
fainted  away.  Is  it  progress  to  assign  to 
singers  such  inhuman  tasks'?  " 

During  this  season  Hammerstein  brought 
forward  a  large  number  of  singers  new  to 
America,  as  grand  opera  singers. 

Marguerite  Sylva  was  born  in  Brussels  where 
her  father,  Christian  Smith,  was  a  physician. 
She  was  musically  educated  at  the  Brussels 
Conservatory,  and  made  her  debut  at  Drury 


232  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Lane,  in  London,  when  very  young.  Not  know- 
ing English  she'  memorized  the  words  of  the 
opera  and  sang  with  apparently  a  thorough  un- 
derstanding of  their  meaning.  Miss  Sylva  first 
came  to  America  with  Beerbohm  Tree's  dra- 
matic company  in  1895,  and  afterwards  went 
into  light  opera  at  the  Herald  Square  Theatre 
in  New  York.  In  September,  1898,  she  ap- 
peared as  Suzette  in  "  The  French  Maid,"  and 
was  then  leading  woman  in  "  The  Princess 
Chic."  In  1899  she  was  in  "The  Fortune 
Teller  "  company  when  there  were  associated 
with  her  Alice  Neilsen  and  one  or  two  other 
singers  who  have  become  well  known. 

On  September  14,  1906,  after  studying  in 
Paris  with  Madame  Delattre,  Marguerite  Sylva 
made  her  Parisian  debut  at  the  Opera  Comique, 
as  Carmen. 

In  1909  she  became  a  member  of  Hammer- 
stein's  company,  in  which  her  impersonation 
of  Carmen  was  spoken  of  as  being,  "  as  far  as 
composition  of  the  part  is  concerned,  the  most 
interesting,  the  most  distinguished,  the  most 
vivid  that  has  been  seen  since  Calve  first  visited 
this  country.  Sensual,  but  never  vulgar,  never 
common,  and  sung  with  beauty  of  tone,  etc." 

Madame  Sylva  is  known  in  private  life  as 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       233 

Mrs.  William  D.  Mann,  her  husband  was  form- 
erly manager  of  the  Herald  Square  Theatre  in 
New  York. 

Soon  after  Marguerite  Sylva  appeared  at  the 
Manhattan  Opera-House  in  1909  she  was  inter- 
viewed by  the  ubiquitous  newspaper  man  and 
gave  some  very  valuable  advice  to  prospective 
opera  singers  in  regard  to  Paris,  from  which 
city  she  advised  them  to  keep  away.  Incident- 
ally she  told  a  pathetic  story  of  her  own  early 
struggles  in  New  York,  which  does  not  abso- 
lutely fit  in  with  the  foregoing  biographical  ac- 
count as  to  her  first  coming  to  America,  yet  the 
difference  is  slight,  —  she  is  more  likely  to  have 
got  her  theatrical  engagement  in  a  minor  part 
while  in  New  York,  than  to  have  been  engaged 
abroad  and  come  with  the  company.  Managers 
do  not  generally  pay  for  ocean  voyages  of  the 
minor  characters,  however  much  they  may  like 
the  impression  to  go  about  that  they  are  doing 
it.  A  certain  amount  of  magnificence  always 
impresses  the  public. 

Miss  Sylva  said  that  when  she  was  eighteen 
she  ran  away  from  her  home  in  Brussels  be- 
cause her  mother  would  not  let  her  wear  a  silk 
dress  on  a  rainy  day.  She  thought  her  mother 
was  a  tyrant,  although  she  had  ample  oppor- 


234  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tunity  later  to  change  her  mind.  With  fifteen 
dollars  in  her  pocket  she  arrived  in  New  York, 
and  immediately  began  to  seek  employment  at 
the  theatres.  The  managers  laughed  at  her  and 
said,  "  Why,  my  dear  girl,  you  can't  speak 
English.  How  can  you  expect  to  play?  ' 

It  was  not  very  long  before  her  fifteen  dollars 
had  shrunk  to  ten  cents,  and  yet  no  employ- 
ment. She  was  very  hungry,  having  eaten  noth- 
ing for  two  days,  when  she  went  into  a  cheap 
restaurant.  Not  knowing  what  to  get  for  her 
money  she  watched  the  people,  and  when  the 
waiter  came  she  ordered  a  share  of  the  biggest 
thing  that  she  had  seen  carried  past,  and  was 
much  relieved  when  she  found  that  it  cost  only 
ten  cents.  She  ate  ravenously,  finishing  every 
bit.  When  she  went  to  her  room  she  was  very 
sick,  the  people  in  the  house  were  frightened 
and  sent  for  a  doctor.  He  tried  to  find  out 
what  she  had  eaten,  and  eventually  was  able  to 
explain  to  her  that  the  rind  of  watermelons  is 
indigestible. 

In  a  week  she  was  well  enough  to  resume  her 
hunt  for  employment,  and  she  found  that  she 
could  have  sung  in  choruses,  but  she  would  not 
do  this.  She  tried  to  learn  a  little  English,  es- 
pecially the  names  of  things  to  eat.  Then  came 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       235 

her  opportunity.  She  was  engaged  to  play  the 
part  of  a  French  maid,  with  a  theatrical  com- 
pany. In  a  short  time  she  was  receiving  good 
compensation,  and  was  able  to  send  money  home 
to  her  mother,  who  had  prophesied  that  she 
would  soon  be  writing  home  for  funds. 

Later  on  Miss  Sylva  went  to  Paris,  and  on 
account  of  what  she  saw  there  she  issued  her 
warning  to  young  American  singers,  which,  by 
the  way,  called  forth  a  quantity  of  indignation 
from  the  managers  of  the  principal  theatres  in 
Paris,  who  vehemently  asserted  their  respecta- 
bility and  their  pater  familiarity,  if  we  may  coin 
a  word  for  the  occasion. 

Salla  Miranda,  a  young  Australian,  from 
Melbourne,  who  went  to  Paris  for  study,  was 
engaged  by  Hammerstein  in  1909  for  his  pre- 
liminary season  of  opera  at  popular  prices. 
She  did  so  well  that  she  was  engaged  for  the 
regular  season.  She  was  young  and  gifted, 
with  a  voice  high  and  flute-like,  and  sympathetic 
in  the  middle  and  lower  registers.  Miss  Mi- 
randa had  made  her  debut  in  Paris  during  the 
previous  year,  as  Gilda  in  "  Rigoletto,"  and 
had  made  a  hit  in  "  Les  Huguenots."  She  had 
also  sung  at  the  Luxembourg  in  Holland  and  at 
Covent  Garden. 


236  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Emma  Trentini  is  a  native  of  Mantua,  and 
her  father  was  a  soldier.  After  his  death  she 
was  sent  to  a  convent  where  she  remained  for 
six  years.  One  of  the  nuns,  noticing  the  qual- 
ity of  her  voice,  decided  that  it  was  worth  train- 
ing. She  was  taught  solfeggio  at  a  school  in 
her  native  city  and  then  her  mother  was  ad- 
vised to  take  her  to  Milan,  to  the  Conservatoire. 
In  this  enterprise  a  prosperous  neighbor  gave 
a  little  help,  and  she  went  through  her  course 
satisfactorily.  After  graduation  it  was  still 
difficult  to  find  an  engagement,  but  at  last  an 
opening  was  offered  at  a  small  town  called 
Ivrea,  where  she  made  her  debut  in  "La  Tra- 
viata."  She  was  then  seventeen,  and  did  not 
understand  acting,  but  as  she  knew  how  to  sing 
she  made  a  success.  Engagements  followed  in 
Turin,  Palermo,  Rome,  Naples,  and  Milan,  and 
it  was  in  Turin  that  Oscar  Hammerstein  heard 
her  and  thought  that  she  would  be  an  acquisi- 
tion for  the  Manhattan  Company.  He  engaged 
her  for  five  years.  She  was  always  popular 
with  New  York  audiences,  and  like  many  Ital- 
ians, she  was  superstitious,  so  she  invariably 
asked  the  manager  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar 
"  for  luck  "  before  going  on  the  stage. 

Miss  Trentini  distinguished  herself  chiefly 


CARMEN   MELIS 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       237 

by  her  characterization  of  Yniold  in  "  Pelleas 
et  Melisande,"  which  has  been  called  ingenious 
and  picturesque. 

When  Carmen  Melis  made  her  debut  in  New 
York  on  November  26,  1909,  as  Tosca  the  Globe 
said :  ' '  Madame  Melis  is  seemingly  a  singing 
actress  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  Unlike 
most  of  the  singers  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  she  has  come  here  almost  unheralded. 
Only  the  more  notable  therefore  is  her  success, 
because  won  simply  and  solely  on  personal 
merit,  and  in  no  wise  discounted  by  the  flourish 
of  anticipatory  trumpets. 

"  Madame  Melis  is  young.  The  charm  of 
youth  is  in  her  face,  her  figure,  voice  and  bear- 
ing. There  is  no  suggestion  of  immaturity. 
She  is  a  woman.  Character  informs  the  clearly 
chiselled  features  and  the  head,  crowned  with 
abundance  of  jet  black  hair,  is  finely  poised. 
The  warmth  of  temperament  that  imbued  her 
acting  yesterday,  was  controlled  by  judgment 
and  no  little  art.  And  Madame  Melis  is  effective 
in  song  as  well  as  in  action.  The  voice  itself  is 
delightfully  fresh.  If  at  times  the  singer  was 
somewhat  reckless  in  her  use  of  it,  at  others 
she  sang  with  skill  and  taste  as  well  as  genuine 
feeling." 


238  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Carmen  Melis  was  born  in  Cagliari,  on  the 
Isle  of  Sardinia.  She  studied  with  Madame 
Teresina-Singer  of  Florence,  and  later  in  Paris 
with  Jean  de  Reszke.  Her  operatic  debut  was 
made  at  the  San  Carlo  Theatre,  Naples,  in  1906, 
in  Mascagni's  "  Iris."  She  created  the  part  of 
Thais  in  Massenet's  opera  of  that  name,  at  the 
Costanzi  Theatre  in  Rome,  and  met  with  such 
success  that  Mpssenet  wrote  her  a  personal  let- 
ter expressing  his  warmest  thanks  for  her  in- 
terpretation of  his  heroine. 

She  appeared  at  Milan,  Venice,  Palermo, 
Cairo,  Odessa  and  Warsaw,  always  winning 
laurels.  After  her  engagement  at  the  Manhat- 
tan Opera-House  she  came  to  the  Boston  Opera- 
House  in  its  second  season  and  was  chosen  to 
create  the  part  of  Minnie  in  "  The  Girl  "  in  the 
Boston  production.  She  has  filled  many  parts 
and  has  been  a  leading  attraction. 

In  1909  a  new  tenor  was  announced,  who  was 
to  make  Caruso  and  Bonci  look  to  their  laurels. 
This  was  John  McCormack,  a  young  Irishman 
(born  in  Athlone,  1884),  who  made  his  debut  at 
the  Manhattan  Opera-House  on  November  10 
as  Manrico  in  "II  Trovatore,"  with  Tetraz- 
zini. 

McCormack  was   educated   at   the    Summer 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       239 

Hill  College,  County  Sligo.  He  entered  into  a 
singing  competition  in  Dublin  in  1903  and  rend- 
ered his  selections  with  such  thrilling  effect 
that  he  captured  the  prize.  Spurred  on  by  this 
success  he  went  to  Milan  and  studied  seriously 
for  two  years.  His  voice  is  a  lyric  tenor,  soft, 
true  and  sweet,  and  while  he  had  not  absolute 
control  he  sang  with  wonderful  grasp  and  with 
excellent  phrasing.  It  was  acknowledged  that 
not  in  many  years  had  a  voice  been  heard  so 
pleasing  and  acceptable,  so  free  from  rough 
usage  and  so  accurate  even  when  forced. 

Mr.  McCormack  has  lately  been  and  still  is 
a  member  of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Opera 
Company,  and  has  distinguished  himself  in 
many  roles. 

Nicolo  Zerola,  who  has  been  recently  singing 
with  the  Chicago  Opera  Company,  first  ap- 
peared in  this  country  with  the  "  Italian  ' 
Opera  Company  at  the  Academy  of  Music.  He 
suddenly  gave  up  his  engagement  with  this 
company,  causing  something  of  a  stir,  and  went 
to  Hammer  stein.  The  "  Italian  '  company 
apologized  for  Zerola 's  absence,  which  was,  of 
course,  on  account  of  illness,  and  a  few  days 
later  the  "  Italian  "  company  ceased  to  exist. 
Meanwhile  Oscar  Ilammerstein  declared  that 


240  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Zerola  was  under  contract  to  him,  and  when 
he  found  him  singing  in  another  company  he 
was  indignant  and  took  immediate  steps  to  stop 
him. 

Some  excitement  was  caused  by  the  engage- 
ment at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House  of  a  tenor 
singer  whose  name  was  Carasa,  and  who  was 
therefore  expected  (apparently)  to  become  a 
rival  of  Caruso.  He  appeared  at  the  Manhat- 
tan Opera-House  in  September,  1909,  in  the 
preliminary  season,  and  appeared  to  be  a  tenor 
of  good  promise,  —  young,  good  physique,  and 
possessing  a  manly  voice. 

Gustav  Huberdeau  has  been  in  America  sev- 
eral seasons  and  has  built  up  a  reputation  as  a 
satisfactory  and  reliable  singer.  He  is  noted 
for  his  "  devil  "  parts,  for  he  sings  Mephisto- 
feles  in  "  Faust,"  the  Devil  in  "  Griselidis," 
Mephisto  in  "  The  Damnation  of  Faust  ' 
(Berlioz),  and  Satan  in  Cesar  Franck's  ora- 
torio "  The  Beatitudes,"  in  addition  to  which 
he  has  ready  for  performance,  Mefisto  in 
Boito's  opera  "  Mefistofele." 

M.  Huberdeau  was  born  and  educated  in 
Paris,  a  member  of  a  military  family.  He  sang 
as  a  boy  in  a  church  choir,  and  having  good 
musical  talent  and  no  taste  for  a  military  life, 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

GUSTAV    HUBERDEAU    AS    HIGH    PRIEST    IN 


SAMSON    ET    DALILA  " 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       241 

he  entered  the  Paris  Conservatoire  and  de- 
voted four  years  to  hard  study.  Having  served 
his  year  in  the  army  he  graduated  from  the 
Conservatoire  and  made  his  debut  at  the  Opera 
Comique  in  "II  Barbiere."  Although  he  has 
sung  in  many  opera-houses  in  France  he  re- 
mained for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Opera 
Comique. 

In  New  York  he  created  the  role  of  Orestes 
in  "  Elektra." 

Orville  Harold  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  where 
he  was  born  on  a  farm,  his  mother  was  French, 
father  English.  He  spent  some  of  his  early 
years  in  Kansas,  but  returned  eastward  and 
went  to  Indianapolis.  He  began  to  meet  with 
success  in  his  musical  efforts,  and  having  an 
excellent  memory  and  being  a  quick  study,  he 
became  a  very  useful  singer.  He  accompanied 
Tetrazzini  on  a  concert  tour  and  thus  aroused 
her  interest.  When  Hammerstein  engaged  him 
he  was  filling  engagements  in  the  variety 
theatres. 

When  Hammerstein  first  heard  Orville 
Harold  he  decided  to  send  him  abroad  to  study 
with  de  Eeszke,  but  found  that  he  could  get 
sufficient  instruction  in  New  York. 

Henri  Scott,  the  American  basso,  was  one  of 


242  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

the  operatic  "  finds  "  of  Oscar  Hammerstein 
who  engaged  him  for  the  season  of  1909-1910 
at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House,  just  as  the 
young  singer  was  completing  his  plans  for  go- 
ing abroad.  He  made  his  debut  in  the  role  of 
Ramfis  in  "  Aida,"  and  the  striking  resem- 
blance between  the  quality  of  his  voice  and 
style  of  singing  to  that  of  the  famous  French 
basso,  Pol  Plangon,  was  at  once  noted. 

Mr.  Scott  is  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  undoubtedly 
the  first  entirely  American-trained  singer  to 
achieve  success  in  one  of  the  principal  com- 
panies in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  a 
European  city;  for  he  not  only  obtained  his 
vocal  training  at  home  but  learned  all  his  roles 
and  stage  deportment,  besides  mastering  three 
foreign  languages,  here  in  America. 

At  the  close  of  the  last  season  at  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  Mr.  Scott  went  abroad  for 
the  first  time  and  soon  found  his  way  into  Italy, 
where  he  secured  an  engagement  to  sing  in 
Eome.  During  the  season  of  1910-1911  he  sang 
at  the  Teatro  Adriano,  making  his  debut  as 
Mephistopheles  in  "  Faust."  His  success  in 
Rome  resulted  in  his  engagement  by  Director 
Dippel  of  the  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Company. 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       243 

Prior  to  his  advent  into  opera,  Mr.  Scott 
achieved  quite  a  reputation  as  a  concert  and 
oratorio  singer,  and  in  1908  supported  Caruso 
in  the  celebrated  tenor's  first  and  only  concert 
tour  in  America. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  Mr.  Scott  was  also  a 
famous  athlete,  having  been  a  champion  oars- 
man for  several  seasons. 

One  of  the  foremost  baritones  now  appear- 
ing on  the  operatic  stage  in  America  is  Giovanni 
Polese,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Opera 
Company.  Born  in  Italy,  he  early  showed  signs 
of  possessing  a  voice  of  great  quality  and 
marked  dramatic  ability.  For  besides  being  a 
great  singer  his  acting  is  well  above  the  average 
seen  on  the  operatic  stage. 

Signor  Polese  received  his  musical  education 
in  Italy,  and  made  his  debut  in  Milan,  and  his 
name  is  familiar  to  all  opera  goers  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Europe. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  engaged  him  for  his 
Manhattan  Opera  Company,  where  he  made 
his  first  American  appearance. 

Signor  Polese  joined  the  Boston  Opera  Com- 
pany in  1911,  and  has  been  of  great  value  to 
the  organization  ever  since. 

"  Mr.  Polese 's  Sheriff  is  an  interesting  fig- 


244  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ure;  not  so  quietly  sinister  in  action  and  re- 
pose as  was  another  sheriff  we  have  seen;  not 
so  melodramatic ;  but  it  is  not  too  extravagant, 
and  in  the  second  act  there  is  a  fine  brutality 
when  he  would  hold  Minnie  in  his  arms." 

In  January,  1910,  it  became  an  open  secret 
that  the  rivalry  between  the  Metropolitan  and 
the  Manhattan  Opera-Houses  was  producing 
results  which  were  financially  disastrous  to 
both.  A  deficit  of  a  million  was  expected  at 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  while  the  astute 
Oscar  Hammerstein  owned  up  to  a  loss  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million.  There  were  rumors  of 
strained  relations  between  Mr.  Dippel  and  the 
directors  of  the  Metropolitan,  but  to  this  we 
have  referred  elsewhere.  Efforts  were  made 
to  unite  the  interests  of  the  two  houses,  and 
eventually  an  agreement  was  reached  by  which 
Oscar  Hammerstein  quitted  the  operatic  field 
in  America,  and  promised  to  keep  out  of  it,  or 
out  of  certain  cities  for  a  period  of  several 
years.  The  Philadelphia-Chicago  Company  was 
formed  and  Andreas  Dippel  became  manager. 
This  company  took  over  the  scenery  of  the 
Philadelphia  house  and  many  of  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein's  singers.  Other  fragments  of  the  wreck 
went  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  and  the 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       245 

fierce  competition  was  at  an  end.  In  its  place 
was  established  a  sort  of  operatic  trust  by 
which  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  Chi- 
cago were  to  have  companies  of  their  own,  but 
were  to  be  affiliated  through  the  exchange  of 
leading  singers. 

The  Metropolitan  Opera-House  gained 
strength  in  the  French  department  of  its  com- 
pany by  taking  over  Renaud,  Dalmores,  Sam- 
marco,  and  Gilibert.  Madame  Tetrazzini  also 
went  to  the  Metropolitan. 

One  of  the  best  reviews  of  the  competition 
was  written  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Parker,  in  the  Boston 
Transcript,  as  follows : 

"  Through  his  first  season  as  an  operatic 
manager,  even  when  public  favor  had  begun  to 
crown  his  work.  Mr.  Hammerstein  was  fearful 
of  the  Metropolitan.  During  his  second,  when 
Miss  Garden  and  Madame  Tetrazzini  had 
joined  his  forces,  and  '  Louise  '  and  '  Pelleas  ' 
stood  in  his  repertoire,  he  was  contemptuous 
of  it.  During  the  third,  when  the  Metro- 
politan was  struggling  through  the  change 
from  the  regime  of  Mr.  Conried  to  the  present 
ordering  of  its  affairs,  he  was  loftily  patroni- 
zing. Last  spring  (1909)  when  the  Metropoli- 
tan had  promised  '  the  full  strength  of  its  com- 


246  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pany  '  to  mistrustful  Chicago,  and  Mr.  Caruso 
was  the  victim  of  half  nervous  and  half  vocal 
ills,  it  was  in  sore  straits  for  a  tenor.  Out- 
wardly, for  three  years,  the  temper  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan towards  Mr.  Hammerstein  had  been 
lofty  contempt.  Who  was  this  parvenu  man- 
ager pushing  into  our  field?  Last  April  it  had 
to  swallow  its  pride,  put  aside  the  pretence  of 
disdain,  and  entreat  from  Mr.  Hammerstein 
the  loan  of  the  tenor,  Zenatello. 

"  The  director  of  the  Manhattan  acceded  to 
the  request,  veiling  his  Olympian  satisfaction 
under  words  of  brotherly  solicitude  for  the 
plight  of  '  the  other  house.'  Being  an  astute 
man  of  business,  he  also  exacted  —  or  believed 
he  had  exacted  —  his  price;  the  opportunity 
when  he  chose,  to  take  his  company  to  Chicago 
unhampered  by  his  rival.  Accordingly  he  made 
his  preparations  to  send  his  company  to  Chi- 
cago in  the  course  of  the  current  season.  One 
theatre  only,  in  Chicago,  is  suitable  for  opera 
on  a  large  scale,  the  Auditorium,  and  when  Mr. 
Hammerstein  sought  it,  contracts  between  its 
management  and  the  management  of  the  Metro- 
politan denied  him  access  to  it  at  any  time 
available  for  him.  Mr.  Hammerstein,  as  his 
way  is,  chose  not  to  recollect  that  he  had  ex- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       247 

eluded  the  Metropolitan  Company  from  the 
Boston  Theatre  in  similar  fashion  last  year. 
As  for  Chicago,  he  had  been  spitted  on  his 
weapon;  he  had  been  tricked  by  the  Metro- 
politan, or  he  believed  that  he  had  been  tricked. 
He  was,  and  still  is,  angrily  vindictive.  He 
resolved  to  fight  the  Metropolitan  at  every  turn, 
and  so  far  as  he  can  lay  his  plans  in  advance, 
he  has  laid  them. ' ' 

Mr.  Parker  continues :  ' '  The  gods  proverbi- 
ally love  a  good  fighter.  Mr.  Hammerstein  is 
a  good  fighter;  he  loves  fighting  for  its  own 
sake;  and  the  gods  have  been  kind  to  him  ac- 
cordingly. In  expansive  and  intimate  moments, 
especially  at  the  end  of  a  season,  he  has  some- 
times confessed  (as  gossip  runs  in  New  York) 
that  he  has  been  surprised  at  his  own  good 
fortunes.  He  has  his  own  courage,  his  own 
faculty  of  constructive  imagination,  his  own 
tireless  diligence  to  thank  for  many  of  them, 
but  the  operatic  fates  have  been  kind.  They 
gave  him  Mr.  Renaud,  because  ill-informed  and 
provincial  Heinrich  Conried  had  never  hap- 
pened to  hear  of  one  of  the  illustrious  singing 
actors  of  our  time.  They  gave  him  '  Louise  ' 
and  '  Pelleas,'  '  Thai's  '  and  *  Les  Contes 
d 'Hoffmann  '  which,  for  long,  the  Metropolitan 


248  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

might  have  had  for  the  asking.  They  opened  to 
him  the  neglected  mine  of  Massenet's  operas  — 
the  Manhattan  began  last  month  with  his  thirty- 
year-old  '  Herodiade  '  for  *  the  first  time  in 
America.'  When  Europe  yielded  him  no  no- 
table and  promising  new  opera,  a  year  ago, 
there  was  '  Salome,'  which  the  Metropolitan 
had  whipped  from  its  doors  in  a  truly  Ameri- 
can spasm  of  intriguing  prudery,  awaiting  suc- 
cessful revival.  Strauss 's  *  Electra,'  the  most 
considerable  new  venture  of  the  current  winter 
at  the  Manhattan,  has  had  only  a  short  vogue 
of  curiosity  in  Germany.  Here  in  America,  the 
chances  are  that  Mr.  Hammerstein  will  some- 
how kindle  interest  in  it." 

Mr.  Hammerstein  so  pushed  the  Metropol- 
itan Company  that  he  caused  them  to  perform 
the  greatest  task  ever  undertaken  by  an  opera 
company  in  American,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
subscription  performances  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  during  a  season  of  five  months' 
duration,  forty  more  at  the  New  Theatre,  and 
one  or  two  a  week  in  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore;  eleven  performances  in  Bos- 
ton, and  three  or  four  weeks  in  Chicago.  In 
fact,  the  Metropolitan  directors  were  forced  to 
maintain  practically  a  double  company,  of 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       249 

which  one  portion  or  another  was  almost  in- 
cessantly on  the  road.  This  made  a  great  drain 
upon  the  strength  and  endurance  of  the  com- 
pany, but  it  resulted  in  what  was  called  a  tidal 
wave  of  music.  "  From  New  York  to  San 
Francisco, ' '  said  an  enthusiastic  writer,  '  *  from 
Atlanta  to  Los  Angeles,  from  Boston  to  Seattle, 
from  New  Orleans  to  Minneapolis  —  you  may 
follow  any  degree  of  latitude  or  longitude  and 
come  across  cities  and  towns  of  all  sizes  in 
which  music  flourishes  as  never  before. ' '  How- 
ever much  the  finances  of  the  two  houses  suf- 
fered the  musical  community  throughout  the 
land  was  very  much  benefited.  Prophecies 
were  made  that  within  a  few  years  there  would 
exist  a  chain  of  opera-houses  throughout  the 
land,  similar  to  those  which  all  the  European 
countries  possess. 

Mr.  Lawrence  Gilman  writing  in  Harper's 
Weekly  on  the  "  Passing  of  the  Manhattan 
Opera-House,"  pays  tribute  to  the  courage, 
ability  and  genius  of  Hammerstein  in  the  fol- 
lowing passages: 

11  Within  the  space  of  three  years  Mr.  Ham- 
merstein produced  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  more  new  works  than  were  given  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  during  a  period 


250  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

comprising  the  last  two  seasons  of  the  Abbey, 
Schoeffel,  and  Grau  regime,  the  entire  five  sea- 
sons during  which  Maurice  Grau  ruled  alone, 
and  the  first  three  seasons  under  the  consul- 
ship of  Conried :  a  period  covering  ten  seasons, 
and  extending  from  1896  to  1906  —  the  year,  it 
will  be  observed,  of  the  opening  of  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-House  and  the  salutary  but  per- 
turbing irruption  of  its  proprietor  and  manager 
into  the  torpid  operatic  life  of  the  metropolis. 

'  *  This,  then,  was  the  second  of  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein 's  triumphs.  He  found  our  operatic  civil- 
ization in  New  York  —  which,  then,  was  the 
same  as  saying  in  America  —  stagnant  and 
decadent,  suffering  from  inanition,  from  lack  of 
energy,  fresh  impulse,  and  adventurous  pur- 
pose. He  has  left  it  with  a  taste  for  and  a  sin- 
cere curiosity  concerning  new  works,  an  inclina- 
tion toward  new  conceptions  in  musical  art,  a 
wholesome  and  thoroughgoing  distaste  for  rou- 
tine and  hackneyed  repertoires :  with,  in  short, 
a  larger  outlook,  a  quicker  responsiveness,  a 
more  plastic  and  eager  spirit. 

11  Mr.  Hammerstein,  the  impresario  who  was 
a  personage,  will  not  readily  be  forgotten.  He 
had  a  genius  for  unwisdom,  a  propensity  for 
doing  egregious,  inexplicable,  and  wantonly 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       251 

foolish  things,  which  was  often  vexatious  to  his 
well-wishers;  yet  he  had  a  more  than  com- 
pensating genius  for  accomplishment.  His  in- 
tuition was  extraordinary,  his  insight  had  at 
times  the  quality  of  inspired  clairvoyance;  his 
store  of  native  shrewdness  was  large  and  fre- 
quently available;  and  his  resiliency  of  spirit, 
his  intrepid  audacity,  his  resourcefulness,  his 
buoyant  and  adventurous  energy,  have  become 
proverbial.  But  the  memory  and  the  praise  of 
his  deeds  will  persist  after  the  man  himself  has 
become  a  legend  —  a  legend  amusing,  romantic, 
incredible. ' ' 

Miss  Garden,  in  speaking  about  the  improved 
standard  of  opera  in  America  and  especially  in 
regard  to  French  opera,  said : 

"  And  the  man  who  has  brought  this  about 
over  here  is  Oscar  Hammerstein.  He  was  al- 
ways the  man  who  knew  what  the  moment  de- 
manded. It  is  ridiculous  to  say  that  a  city 
where  there  are  about  sixty  theatres  could  not 
support  two  opera-houses.  If  Oscar  hadn't  had 
a  moment  of  disheartenment,  if  there  had  only 
been  somebody  to  buck  him  up,  he  wouldn't  have 
given  up  the  fight  here.  Campanini  said  to  me 
that  if  he  had  remained  with  Hammerstein  he 
would  never  have  let  him  shut  the  Manhattan 


252  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Opera-House  up.  They  cannot  do  at  the  Met- 
ropolitan what  our  company  did.  To  do  mod- 
ern French  they  need  a  modern  French  com- 
pany, and  it  is  a  great  pity  they  don 't  have  one, 
as  the  opera  going  public  wants  French  opera 
nowadays. ' ' 

A  story  characteristic  of  Hammerstein  is 
that  of  the  planning  and  building  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Opera-House.  After  he  had  decided 
on  the  venture  he  soon  secured  a  sight  at  North 
Broadway  and  Poplar  St.,  and  stated  that  he 
would  have  his  theatre  built  in  six  months,  and 
that  it  would  be  the  finest  opera-house  in  the 
world.  His  plans  were  drawn  up  and  approved 
in  a  week,  and  the  architects  and  builders  fur- 
nished with  rough  drafts.  The  plans  were  put 
through  the  building  department  at  the  City 
Hall  in  forty-eight  hours  and  by  April  3  all 
contracts  were  signed.  Hammerstein  then 
started  for  Europe  in  search  of  talent,  leaving 
the  supervision  of  the  work  in  competent 
hands.  There  is  an  amusing  story  concerning 
a  strike  of  plasterers,  which  must  have  taken 
place,  of  course,  after  his  return  from  Europe. 
After  scouring  other  cities  for  men  and  finding 
that  the  unions  had  forestalled  him,  and  that  all 
the  men  whom  he  engaged  were  met  at  the 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       253 

station  and  turned  back  to  their  homes,  their 
fares  being  paid  by  the  union,  a  happy  thought 
struck  him.  He  hired  sixty  or  more  men  who 
were  out  of  work,  sent  them  out  of  Philadel- 
phia with  instructions  to  get  on  the  trains  near 
that  city  and  come  in  as  strike-breakers.  They, 
too,  were  met  by  the  union  pickets,  stopped,  and 
received  five  or  ten  dollars  each  to  return  to 
their  supposed  homes.  Finding  that  his  plan 
worked  successfully,  he  kept  it  up  until  the  union 
had  paid  out  some  $25,000  in  this  way.  But  he 
had  to  keep  on  hiring  new  men  to  avoid  the 
recognition  of  "  repeaters."  This  story  might 
be  more  plausible  if  Mr.  Hammerstein  were  his 
own  building  contractor. 

His  Philadelphia  Opera-House  had  a  seating 
capacity  of  forty-five  hundred.  There  was  but 
one  balcony  and  one  row  of  boxes  twenty- eight 
in  all,  and  the  balcony  had  a  seating  capacity  of 
twenty-five  hundred. 

Hammerstein  was  fond  of  injunctions.  On 
one  occasion  a  tenor  named  Albani  was  engaged 
to  sing  with  the  San  Carlo  Company  in  Bos- 
ton. He  was  under  contract  to  Hammerstein, 
or,  at  any  rate,  Hammerstein  claimed  a  con- 
tract with  him.  The  performance  took  place 
with  Hammer  stein's  constable  standing  behind 


254  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Albani  on  the  stage,  much  to  the  amusement 
of  the  audience.  Constantineau  was  once 
threatened  in  a  similar  way  and  had  to  resort 
to  a  ruse  to  escape  service  of  a  writ.  Mar- 
guerite Sylva  was  also  enjoined  from  appear- 
ing with  the  Boston  Opera  Company  on  the 
ground  of  a  contract  existing  with  Hammer- 
stein.  She  declared,  however,  that  Hammer- 
stein  had  broken  the  contract  by  assigning  to 
her  a  part  inferior  to  that  for  which  she  had 
been  cast  in  "  Griselidis." 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  contract  with  a 
singer  is  a  very  complicated  affair  and  covers 
much  more  than  the  amount  of  money  to  be 
received  and  the  number  of  performances.  For 
instance,  it  is  related  that  Caruso,  in  1911, 
signed  a  contract  with  the  Imperial  Opera- 
House  at  Vienna  in  which  certain  rules  of  the 
house  were  waived  for  the  distinguished  tenor. 
Although  smoking  is  strictly  prohibited  Caruso 
was  to  be  allowed  to  smoke  until  the  curtain 
rose.  A  fireman  was  specially  detailed  to  stand 
behind  him  to  throw  the  ends  of  his  cigarettes 
into  a  basin  of  water.  Again,  no  one  is  allowed 
on  the  stage  behind  the  scene  who  has  no  di- 
rect business  there,  —  Caruso  had  permission 
to  be  attended  by  his  doctor,  prompter,  sec- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       255 

retary,  and  conductor,  who  were  allowed  to 
escort  him  to  his  dressing  room  and  back 
again. 

During  the  past  decade  lawsuits  have  been 
found  excellent  sport,  and  perhaps  good  ad- 
vertising by  opera  singers  as  well  as  by  man- 
agers. The  ill-fated  Mascagni  tour  was  the 
cause  of  a  large  array  of  suits  and  counter- 
suits,  of  which  one  heard  little  beyond  their 
institution. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  the  escape  of 
Dalmores  from  America  and  how  he  avoided 
service  of  a  suit  for  $25,000  brought  against 
him  by  the  Metropolitan  Company.  Dalmores 
donned  the  uniform  of  the  cornet  player  of  the 
ship's  band,  and  went  on  board  unsuspected  by 
the  minions  of  the  law. 

Madame  Tetrazzini  made  a  sensational  es- 
cape from  a  small  army  of  process  servers  who 
wanted  to  hand  her  papers  in  a  suit  for  $39,000 
brought  against  her  by  an  impresario,  who  said 
she  had  broken  a  contract  made  with  him  in 
1904.  The  lawyers  of  the  impresario  had  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  out  that  Madame  Tetrazzini 
was  booked  to  sail  by  the  Mauritania,  so 
they  placed  a  careful  watch  at  the  gangway. 
The  prima  donna  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 


256  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

She  rigged  up  her  maid  to  represent  herself 
and  sent  her  in  an  automobile  to  the  ship,  where 
papers  were  duly  served  on  her,  but  Tetraz- 
zini,  going  to  the  dock  dressed  as  a  maid  and 
in  an  ordinary  hack,  ascended  the  steerage 
gangway  unobserved,  and  the  steamer  was  off 
before  the  mistake  could  be  rectified. 

So  far  as  the  purposes  of  this  book  are  con- 
cerned we  have  now  finished  with  Oscar  Ham- 
merstein,  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  the  end  of  Oscar  Hammerstein 
came  with  the  closing  of  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House.  Not  at  all.  He  has  built  and  opened  an 
opera-house  in  London  and  has  stirred  up  the 
management  of  Covent  Garden  as  he  did  that 
of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  He  has  pur- 
sued similar  tactics  in  England  to  those  which 
he  pursued  in  America.  When  the  wealthy 
people  did  not  sufficiently  patronize  his  house 
he  reduced  the  fees  and  gave  "  opera  for  the 
people."  Yet  King  George  attended  the  open- 
ing of  the  theatre  and  congratulated  Hammer- 
stein  on  his  achievement  and  wished  him  pros- 
perity. 

He  has  already  startled  the  old  world  with 
one  of  his  discoveries,  —  a  young  American 
girl  from  Allentown,  Pa.,  Felice  Lyne,  Without 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       257 

preliminary  advertising  he  put  her  on  to  sing 
Gilda  in  "  Rigoletto  "  with  Maurice  Renaud 
and  Orville  Harold.  The  house  was  not  full, 
and  nothing  extraordinary  was  expected,  but 
as  soon  as  Miss  Lyne  began  to  sing  people 
stirred  in  their  seats  with  amazement. 

Miss  Felice  Lyne  is  a  native  of  Kansas  City, 
where  her  father  and  grandfather  were  osteo- 
pathic  physicians.  When  she  was  a  small  child 
her  father  moved  to  Allentown,  Pa.,  where  she 
attended  the  schools  and  college.  She  also  took 
singing  lessons  of  Frank  S.  Hardman,  who 
urged  that  she  be  sent  abroad  to  study.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1908,  Mrs.  Lyne  took  her  daughter 
to  Paris  where  she  studied  under  de  Reszke, 
Madame  Marchesi  and  d'Aubigne. 

In  July,  1910,  she  met  Oscar  Hammerstein, 
who  sent  for  her  to  come  with  her  mother  and 
see  him.  She  took  no  notice  of  the  request,  as 
she  had  heard  that  Hammerstein  was  out  of 
grand  opera  for  good,  and  she  would  consider 
nothing  else.  No  one  had  then  heard  of  his 
London  plans,  but  it  was  rumored  that  he  was 
going  to  manage  light  opera.  Hence  Miss  Lyne 
refused  to  see  him  or  to  take  up  any  proposi- 
tion. She  was  considering  an  offer  from  Hans 
Gregor  of  Berlin,  and  there  were  tentative 


258  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

propositions  from  Covent  Garden,  but  she 
wanted  to  sing  in  America. 

Oscar  Hammerstein  had  no  intention  of  let- 
ting her  slip.  He  was  convinced  that  she  was 
well  worth  while,  so  he  sent  her  an  offer  of  a 
five  year  contract  with  a  large  salary.  This 
offer  was  refused.  Then  he  almost  doubled 
the  offer  and  again  he  met  with  a  refusal. 
Then  he  told  her  of  his  London  plans  and  she 
signed  the  contract. 

When  she  stepped  upon  the  stage  at  the  new 
opera-house,  she  was  absolutely  unknown. 
She  had  not  been  singing  ten  minutes  when 
the  audience  realized  that  they  were  listening 
to  an  unusual  singer,  and  she  met  with  a  tre- 
mendous reception.  The  news  of  her  success 
was  soon  spread  abroad  and  in  a  few  days  she 
became  famous,  but  success  was  apparently  too 
much  for  her,  and  before  the  end  of  the  season 
she  had  a  dispute  with  the  impresario  in  which 
she  is  said  to  have  inflicted  punishment  upon 
his  devoted  head  with  the  score  of  an  opera,  the 
cause  being  that  she  felt  her  contract  to  be  un- 
fair. She  had  the  prima  donna  spirit  without 
the  experience  which  lends  some  justification. 

Miss  Lyne  is  very  small  and  has  charming 
stage  presence  and  personality,  also  a  wonder- 


The  Manhattan  Opera-House       259 

ful  voice,  which  fulfils  dramatic  demands  with 
spontaneity  and  grace.  Experience  will  bring 
dramatic  force  and  mastery,  and  perhaps  teach 
her  to  be  kind  to  the  poor  impresario,  who  has 
many  troubles. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE    METROPOLITAN    OPERA  -  HOUSE    UNDER   GATTI  - 
CASAZZA   AND    DIPPEL, 

OWING  to  the  failing  health  of  Heinrich  Con- 
ried  during  the  season  of  1907-1908  it  was  evi- 
dent that  his  resignation  of  the  directorship  of 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  could  not  be 
long  delayed.  When  Conried  resigned,  the 
board  of  directors  appointed,  as  temporary 
administrator,  Andreas  Dippel,  the  tenor,  who 
had  long  been  connected  with  the  house.  At  the 
end  of  the  season  Dippel  was  given  authority 
to  go  abroad  and  engage  soloists  and  chorus 
for  the  following  season. 

In  the  meantime  the  board  of  directors  were 
looking  about,  and  eventually  succeeded  in  en- 
gaging Signer  Gatti-Casazza,  manager  of  the 
opera-house  of  La  Scala,  at  Milan.  Signor 
Casazza  stipulated,  as  part  of  his  agreement, 
that  he  should  bring  with  him  his  conductor, 
Arturo  Toscanini,  who  had  been  associated  with 
him  for  some  years  at  La  Scala. 

260 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      261 

The  Metropolitan  Opera-House  was  sup- 
posed, by  the  public,  to  be  under  the  dual  con- 
trol of  Casazza  and  Dippel,  and  it  was  appar- 
ently so  understood  by  Dippel.  Mr.  Casazza, 
on  the  contrary,  understood  that  Dippel  was 
his  assistant,  as  his  own  contract  stated  that  he 
would  have  supreme  control,  at  least  for  one 
year,  with  the  privilege  of  renewing  the  con- 
tract for  two  or  more  years.  These  matters 
are  mentioned  at  this  point  as  they  will  help 
to  account  for  incidents  to  be  related  hereafter. 

Signer  Gatti-Casazza  is  a  native  of  Ferrara, 
where  his  father  was  president  of  the  municipal 
theatre.  Although  educated  with  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  civil  engineer,  young  Casazza  was 
so  closely  associated  with  the  theatre  that  he 
naturally  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  oper- 
atic matters,  and  when  his  father  moved  to 
Rome,  he,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  was  of- 
fered the  presidency  of  the  theatre  as  his 
father's  successor. 

Signer  Gatti-Casazza  remained  at  Ferrara  as 
president  of  the  theatre  for  five  years,  during 
which  time  his  work  was  so  efficient  that  he 
brought  the  theatre  into  prominent  notice 
throughout  Italy. 

During  his  last  year  at  Ferrara  there  was  a 


262  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  opera  in  Milan,  and 
La  Scala  was  closed.  Nothing  of  the  kind  had 
happened  since  1778.  The  city  was  either  un- 
able or  unwilling  to  furnish  the  customary  sub- 
sidy. A  stock  company  was  formed,  and  Gatti- 
Casazza  was  elected  director  of  the  opera- 
house.  After  ten  years  of  successful  manage- 
ment at  La  Scala,  he  was  invited  to  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  in  New  York,  and  took  up 
his  duties  at  the  beginning  of  the  season  of 
1908-1909. 

Andreas  Dippel  first  came  to  this  country  in 
1890  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  German 
opera  company,  whose  performances  under  the 
baton  of  Anton  Seidl  made  an  epoch  in  operatic 
performance  in  this  country.  Like  many  other 
singers,  Dippel  was  intended  for  a  commercial 
career,  and  previous  to  the  discovery  of  his 
vocal  gifts  had  some  years'  experience  in  busi- 
ness life.  After  his  appearance  in  America  in 
1890,  he  returned  to  Germany,  and  in  1893  was 
appointed  one  of  the  principal  tenors  of  the 
Eoyal  Court  Opera  at  Vienna.  He  came  back 
again  to  the  Metropolitan  Company  in  1898 
with  a  greatly  enhanced  reputation,  and  made 
a  success  of  the  part  of  Siegfried,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  Alvary  was  still  fresh  in 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      263 

the  memory  of  opera  lovers  in  America.  Since 
that  time  Dippel  had  remained  with  the  Met- 
ropolitan Company,  where  he  was  a  most  use- 
ful member,  being  able  to  sing  in  Italian, 
French  and  German,  and  having  a  large  reper- 
toire. Dippel  was  therefore  an  excellent  man 
in  the  emergency  of  Conried's  retirement. 

Rivalry  between  the  Metropolitan  and  the 
Manhattan  Opera-Houses  was  now  at  full  blast. 
It  extended  beyond  singers,  to  the  production 
of  new  works,  the  chorus,  the  scenery,  and  the 
whole  field  of  operatic  management. 

"We  are  permitted  to  quote  the  following  arti- 
cle from  the  Nation  which  gives  a  good  view  of 
the  situation  at  this  time : 

"  Operatic  managers  and  their  press  agents 
have  a  habit  of  magniloquently  proclaiming 
each  new  season  as  the  most  brilliant  ever 
planned.  For  once  this  assertion  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  an  approximation  to  the  truth.  The 
constellation  of  operatic  stars  to  be  seen  and 
heard  during  the  next  twenty  weeks  at  our 
Metropolitan  and  Manhattan  Opera-Houses  is 
dazzling.  Germany  laments  the  loss  of  her  best 
singers,  and  so  does  France;  while  we  have 
so  many  of  these  great  vocalists  that  some  of 
them  will  get  what  has  been  wittily  called 


264  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

'  hush  money,'  since  it  will  be  impossible,  es- 
pecially at  the  Metropolitan,  to  give  the  guar- 
anteed number  of  appearances,  which  neverthe- 
less must  be  paid  for. 

"  Notwithstanding  this  array  of  talent,  the 
singers  are  by  no  means  to  have  everything 
their  own  way.  Heretofore  it  has  been  gener- 
ally the  policy  to  trust  to  the  fact  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  large  paying  public,  *  the  singer 's 
the  thing,'  and  the  opera  of  secondary  impor- 
tance. But  of  the  present  season  the  popular 
singers  are  not  to  be  the  only  feature;  we  are 
to  have  a  number  of  new  and  interesting  operas. 
For  this  reform  Oscar  Hammerstein  is  respon- 
sible. His  surprisingly  successful  experiment 
of  producing  operas  by  Charpentier,  Debussy, 
and  Massenet  that  had  been  previously 
shunned,  refuted  the  inveterate  belief  that  the 
public  does  not  want  operatic  novelties. 
Pleased  with  his  success  in  venturing  where 
Mapleson,  Grau,  and  Conried  had  feared  to 
tread,  he  is  about  to  make  his  local  patrons 
acquainted  with  Massenet's  '  Griselidis  '  and 
1  Le  Jongleur  de  Notre  Dame,'  Breton's  *  Do- 
lores,' Jan  Blockx's  *  La  Princesse  d'Auberge,' 
which  will  be  absolutely  new  here;  and  Mas- 
senet's *  Manon,'  Saint-Saens 's  '  Samson  et 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      265 

Dalila,'  and  Bizet's  '  Les  Pecheurs  de  Perles,' 
which  to  most  of  our  opera-goers  will  be  as 
good  as  new.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  to  these 
he  is  going  to  add  the  morbid  '  Salome  '  of 
Richard  Strauss. 

"It  is  probable  that  even  if  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein  had  not  set  a  good  example,  the  new  man- 
agers of  the  Metropolitan  would  have  paid 
more  attention  than  their  predecessors  to  fresH 
works.  The  joint  managers  have  been  casting 
about  for  unfamiliar  operas  to  enliven  the  stale 
Metropolitan  repertory,  and  their  promises, 
most  of  which  will  probably  be  kept,  are  cer- 
tainly alluring  to  those  who  believe  that  in 
music  as  in  literature  and  the  drama  new  pro- 
ductions should  have  a  hearing.  Of  special 
interest  will  be  D 'Albert's  *  Tiefland,'  the  most 
successful  German  opera  since  Humperdinck's 
1  Hansel  and  Gretel;  '  Humperdinck's  new 
opera,  '  The  Children  of  the  King,'  which  is  to 
have  its  first  performance  here  on  any  stage, 
probably  under  the  composer's  own  direction; 
and  Goldmark's  '  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth.' 
Italy  will  be  drawn  on  for  two  works  new  here 
—  Puccini's  l  Le  Villi  '  and  Catalani's  'La 
Wally;  '  while  Paris  will  contribute  its  latest 
success,  Laparra's  *  Habanera.'  Bohemia  is  to 


266  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

be  represented  by  Smetana's  *  The  Bartered 
Bride,'  and  Eussia  by  Tchaikovsky's  '  The 
Queen  of  Spades.'  '  The  Pipe  of  Desire,'  by 
Prof.  F.  S.  Converse  of  Harvard,  is  also  prom- 
ised. This  will  be,  as  the  prospectus  says,  '  the 
first  work  by  an  American  composer  to  be 
heard  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.'  ' 

One  of  the  most  important  additions  to  the 
Metropolitan  Company  in  1908  was  Emmy 
Destinn,  a  woman  of  unusual  and  diversified 
talent. 

Emmy  Destinn  is  a  Bohemian  and  her  fame 
was  made  in  Berlin,  singing  in  German.  When 
she  came  to  America  it  was  said  that  she  had 
never  sung  Wagnerian  roles  and  did  not  expect 
to  do  so,  yet  Elizabeth  and  Elsa  are  two  of  the 
roles  in  which  she  has  distinguished  herself  in 
this  country. 

Miss  Destinn  was  born  in  Prague,  and  her 
real  name  is  Rittl.  She  sings  under  a  sou- 
briquet taken  from  one  of  her  teachers,  Madame 
Loewe-Destinn,  with  whom  she  studied  singing 
when  she  began  serious  work  in  that  line.  At 
first  when  she  began  to  study  music  the  violin 
was  chosen,  and  the  voice  was  not  cultivated 
for  some  time. 

When  Madame  Loewe-Destinn  had  sufficiently 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

EMMY   DESTINN 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      267 

prepared  her  pupil,  she  took  her  to  Berlin  and 
obtained  a  hearing  before  Von  Huelsen,  the 
intendant  of  the  opera-house.  Von  Huelsen 
engaged  her  at  once,  and  she  remained  in  Ber- 
lin until  she  came  to  sing  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  in  New  York,  though  she  had  ac- 
cepted a  few  temporary  engagements  elsewhere, 
as,  for  instance,  when  she  sang  in  London  in 
1905  and  achieved  a  great  triumph  in  ' '  Madame 
Butterfly,"  and  as  Donna  Anna  and  Aida. 

In  1901  Cosima  Wagner  invited  her  to  sing 
Senta  in  the  first  Bayreuth  production  of  "  Der 
Fliegender  Hollander."  These  performances 
made  her  famous  to  the  outside  world.  In  her 
dramatic  success  Miss  Destinn  has  been  com- 
pared to  Madame  Calve,  indeed,  she  has  been 
called  by  some  Americans  the  greatest  German 
singing  actress  of  the  day. 

When  Richard  Strauss  produced  his  much 
talked  of  opera  "  Salome  "  Emmy  Destinn 
created  the  role  of  Salome  in  Berlin,  and  was 
selected  by  Strauss  to  sing  the  part  in  Paris. 

Miss  Destinn  is  said  to  be  a  collector  of  an- 
tiquities and  to  be  the  possessor  of  a  fine  col- 
lection, which  she  keeps  at  her  home  in  Prague. 
She  is  also  fond  of  cats,  and  has  three  in  her 
retinue.  She  is  also  a  writer  of  poems,  plays, 


The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

etc.  Miss  Destinn  may  also  be  considered  an 
optimist,  for  she  does  not  think  that  the  drama 
is  on  the  decline,  nor  that  the  opera  singers  of 
old  were  very  much  superior  to  those  of  the 
present  day.  In  an  interview  in  1912,  she  ex- 
pressed some  views  similar  to  those  of  Miss 
Morena.  "  One  is  given  so  little  chance  to  sing 
a  wide  variety  of  roles  at  the  Metropolitan. 
My  repertoire  includes  something  like  eighty 
operas,  and  see  what  I  have  been  doing  all 
the  winter!  Only  Aida,  Tosca,  Nedda,  San- 
tuzza,  Elisabeth,  Elsa,  Eva,  Marie,  Gioconda, 
and  The  Girl!  Only  ten  parts,  in  other  words. 
And  then  think  of  it!  One  is  expected  to  sing 
only  twice  a  week  when  I  should  like  to  be  sing- 
ing three  or  four  times,  as  I  do  in  Germany. 
The  repertoire  here  is  so  small  compared  with 
those  of  the  German  houses !  ' ' 

Perhaps  Miss  Destinn  is  suffering  from  the 
efforts  of  former  singers  who,  being  paid  for 
the  season,  sang  as  seldom  as  possible,  while 
the  custom  now  is  to  pay  so  much  a  perform- 
ance, the  singer  being  guaranteed  a  certain 
minimum  number  of  performances.  It  is  won- 
derful how  often  singers  are  in  condition  to 
sing  when  each  appearance  adds  to  their  in- 
come, and  per  contra,  they  are  delicate,  fragile 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      269 

things  when  they  are  paid  by  the  month  or  the 
season.  Then  again  the  impresario  must  be 
considered.  He  is  striving  to  give  the  public 
"  the  best."  Hence  he  must  have  a  large  num- 
ber of  good  singers,  in  order  to  impress  the 
public  with  the  magnificence  of  his  under- 
taking, and  to  give  the  desired  variety,  and  he 
must  not  allow  his  best  singers  to  be  too  acces- 
sible. He  must  try  to  keep  the  public  hungry. 

Since  her  first  appearance  in  1908  Miss  Des- 
tinn  has  steadily  tightened  her  hold  upon  her 
American  audiences.  Let  us  quote  two  criti- 
cisms which  appeared  in  1912,  the  first  relates 
to  her  appearance  as  Tosca,  the  second  to  her 
interpretation  of  Minnie  in  the  "  Girl  of  the 
Golden  West."  The  latter  is  interesting  as 
dealing  with  the  matter  of  nationality  in  music. 

"  Thursday  evening  marked  an  epoch  in  a 
somewhat  varied  career  of  Puccini's  '  Tosca  ' 
at  the  Metropolitan.  The  Tosca  of  Emmy  Des- 
tinn  was  an  accident  due  to  the  indisposition 
of  Olive  Fremstadt.  Not  before  had  the  Tosca 
been  heard  in  New  York,  and  seldom  has  a 
Metropolitan  audience  so  completely  aban- 
doned itself  to  joyous  astonishment  as  on  this 
occasion.  The  applause  following  Mme.  Des- 
tinn's  '  Vissi  d'Arte  *  seemed  likely  to  go  on 


270  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

indefinitely.  At  the  end  of  this  act  she  had  to 
acknowledge  fifteen  recalls.  The  role  of  Tosca 
has,  it  is  said,  been  much  haggled  for  by  Metro- 
politan sopranos.  Let  there  be  no  ungracious 
comparisons.  Suffice  it  that  Mme.  Destinn 
amply  compensates  the  acutely  exploited 
physical  lure  of  some  of  her  predecessors  with 
a  vocal  perfection  refined  to  the  n'th  power. 

11  Mme.  Destinn  uses  her  voice  as  a  skilled 
composer,  a  composer,  say,  like  Puccini,  uses 
the  instruments  of  an  orchestra.  The  oboe 
takes  whispered  phrases  from  her  mouth  with 
scarcely  a  sense  of  transition.  Into  the  await- 
ing trumpets  she  pours  streams  of  fiery  gold. 
Her  tones  sweep  aslant  the  shimmer  of  strings. 
Over  and  beyond  this  her  dramatic  instinct  is 
warm,  vital  and  sincere." 

11  Miss  Destinn  sang  the  music  of  Minnie  as 
it  had  not  been  sung  here.  Her  glorious  voice 
and  her  supreme  vocal  art  gave  eloquence  to 
Puccini's  music.  Her  impersonation  was  en- 
grossing. This  Minnie  was  not  too  conscious 
of  her  face  and  not  a  vain  coquette.  Primitive, 
a  woman  of  instincts  rather  than  acquirements, 
she  knew  the  roughness  of  the  life  and  was 
without  thought  of  her  own  superiority.  She 
knew  her  Bible  and  had  old-fashioned  ideas 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     271 

concerning  love  and  duty.  And  in  her  heart 
she  was  romantic.  The  Sheriff,  picturesque 
figure  that  he  was,  would  not  have  appealed  to 
her  even  if  he  had  not  been  married.  Johnson 
was  her  man,  and  the  moment  he  was  in  danger 
she  forgot  the  other  woman.  A  simple  but  an 
intense  soul. 

11  And  in  the  portrayal  of  this  woman  Miss 
Destinn  was  not  conventionally  melodramatic 
in  song  and  gesture.  Her  repose  was  more 
effective  than  the  restlessness  of  others.  How 
every  gesture  told!  How  expressive  her  face 
in  every  scene!  The  apparent  simplicity  of 
her  art  might  well  be  studied  by  singers  who 
insist  on  proving  to  an  audience  that  they  are 
acting. 

"  It  has  been  said  that  only  an  American 
woman  is  fitted  by  nature  to  take  the  part  of 
Minnie.  Mine.  Nordica  and  Miss  Farrar  would 
agree  to  this  and  argue  the  point  fluently  and 
even  warmly.  But  Johnson  and  Minnie  and 
the  Sheriff  and  the  miners  and  the  Indian 
couple  and  the  others  on  the  stage  are  only 
Italians  masquerading  as  men  and  women  of 
other  nations  and  singing  Italian  music.  Let 
us  not  take  opera  too  seriously.  Miss  Destinn 
is  by  birth  a  Czech.  It  would  not  matter 


272  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

whether  she  were  a  Russian,  a  Spaniard,  or 
born  in  Brattleboro  or  Terre  Haute.  On  the 
stage  she  is  Minnie." 

A  mezzo-soprano  who  has  shown  distinct 
originality  and  whose  popularity  has  steadily 
increased  is  Maria  Gay,  a  Spaniard,  who  ap- 
peared at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in 
1908.  She  did  not  begin  her  musical  studies 
until  she  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  then  her 
progress  was  interrupted  by  an  uprising  against 
the  monarchy,  in  which  she  took  a  prominent 
part,  and  spent  nearly  six  months  in  jail  for 
singing  a  revolutionary  hymn  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Separatists. 

Madame  Maria  Gay  was  brought  up  in  an 
atmosphere  of  art.  She  studied  sculpture,  but 
through  a  change  in  fortune  she  was  obliged 
to  abandon  this  study,  and  she  took  to  the 
piano.  When  Eaoul  Pugno  visited  Barcelona, 
her  home,  she  played  and  sang  for  him,  and  he 
advised  her  to  cultivate  her  voice.  She  had  not 
time  then  for  study,  nevertheless  Pugno  en- 
gaged her  to  sing  at  some  of  his  concerts. 
After  a  while  she  was  invited  to  other  places, 
and  one  day  sang  in  one  of  Ysaye  's  concerts  at 
Brussels.  On  this  occasion  the  director  of  the 
Theatre  de  la  Monnaie  was  present  and  she 


Photograph  by  J.  Williams,  Boston 

MARIA   GAY 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     273 

was  introduced  to  him.  He  made  the  startling 
suggestion  to  her  that  she  learn  the  part  of 
Carmen,  of  which,  he  assured  her,  she  was 
quite  capable.  He  gave  her  five  days  in  which 
to  learn  it,  and  as  this  seemed  like  a  challenge 
she  took  the  matter  up  and  began. 

She  had  known  the  cigarette  women  of  Bar- 
celona since  she  was  a  child  and  was  able  to 
represent  the  character  to  the  life.  She  worked 
hard  at  the  music,  and  sang  the  role  at  the 
end  of  the  five  days.  She  was  successful,  but 
realized  that  to  follow  up  the  success  she  must 
study  singing.  She  proceeded  to  Paris  and 
there  met  an  American  soprano,  Ada  Adiny, 
whose  pupil  she  became,  and  in  a  year  she  be- 
gan to  sing  again  in  opera. 

Since  that  time  her  fame  has  increased  and 
she  has  sung  in  most  of  the  large  cities  of 
Europe  and  in  all  the  South  American  cities  in 
which  opera  is  given. 

Madame  Gay's  interpretation  of  the  role  of 
Carmen  was  called  the  sensation  of  the  season: 
"  A  more  vital,  carefully  constructed,  strongly 
consistent  interpretation  of  the  role  has  rarely, 
if  ever,  been  seen  here.  It  was  not  without 
precedent,  but  as  far  as  at  least  one  aspect  of 
the  character  was  concerned,  it  was  developed 


274  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  unskirking,  inexorable  logic,  with  multi- 
plicity and  perfection  in  detail,  to  a  point  that 
had  not  been  reached  before.  Many  were  an- 
tagonized by  the  frank  interpretation.  As 
many  more  were  roused  to  the  summit  of  en- 
thusiasm by  the  force  and  verity  of  it."  In 
fact,  a  warm  and  widespread  discussion  was 
inaugurated  on  the  part  of  the  general  public. 
One  critic  called  it  a  "  raw  and  bleeding  slice 
of  life." 

Other  roles  in  which  Madame  Gay  has  dis- 
tinguished herself  are  Pilar  in  "La  Haba- 
nera, ' '  which  was  called  '  *  a  strong  and  sombre 
impersonation,  intense  in  its  concentrated  re- 
pose, intense  again  when  it  flamed  across  the 
shadows ;  ' '  Dalila  in  ' '  Samson  et  Dalila, ' '  — 
"  artistic,  not  overplayed,  and  vocally  beauti- 
ful to  hear;  "  Lia  in  "  L 'Enfant  Prodigue,"  — 
a  soprano  role;  Santuzza  in  "  Cavalleria  Rus- 
ticana, "  —  "  an  impersonation  of  grim  real- 
ism, at  times  stirring  by  its  sheer  dramatic 
force,  and  provocative  of  pity;  "  Azucena  in 
'  *  II  Trovatore, "  —  "  a  characterization  highly 
vitalized,  illusive  and  convincing;  "  Amneris 
in  "  Aida;  "  Maddalena  in  "  Rigoletto,"  and 
Genevieve  in  "'Pelleas  et  Melisande,"  in  which 
* '  her  every  act  and  phrase  was  authoritative. ' ' 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     275 

After  a  romantic  courtship  of  some  two  or 
three  years,  during  which  she  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  opera,  Maria  Gay  married 
the  tenor  Zenatello. 

Frances  Alda,  who  is  now  Madame  Gatti- 
Casazza,  is  an  Australasian  by  birth,  being  a 
native  of  Christchurch,  New  Zealand.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  she  went  to  Melbourne,  for,  both 
parents  dying  when  she  was  quite  young,  her 
grandparents  took  charge  of  her.  She  passed 
her  girlhood  in  comfort,  and  was  educated  at 
a  fashionable  private  school.  Her  aunt, 
Frances  Saville,  who  was  an  excellent  singer 
and  had  appeared  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  in  New  York  under  Maurice  Grau,  now 
took  a  great  interest  in  her,  and  she  had  an- 
other relative  who  had  been  an  operatic  man- 
ager. It  was  therefore  not  difficult  for  her, 
when  she  wished  to  earn  some  money,  to  secure 
an  engagement  with  Williamson  and  Musgrove, 
the  Australian  theatrical  managers,  to  appear 
in  a  revival  of  Sullivan  and  Gilbert  operas, 
and  she  sang  first  in  "  The  Sorcerer." 

In  due  course  she  went  to  London,  and  sing- 
ing one  day  unprofessionally  at  a  social  func- 
tion she  met  Marcel  Journet,  the  operatic 
singer.  He  remarked  upon  her  voice,  and  ex- 


276  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pressed  a  high  opinion  of  it.  A  mutual  friend 
repeated  the  remark  to  her,  and  she  was  soon 
in  Paris  looking  up  Madame  Marchesi,  who 
promised  to  make  a  prima  donna  of  her  in 
twelve  months.  It  is  related  that  during  her 
studies  Madame  Melba  heard  her  and  remarked 
to  Marchesi  that  it  was  a  pity  her  new  pupil 
had  no  voice  to  train.  Notwithstanding  that 
opinion  she  appeared  less  than  a  year  later  (in 
1904)  at  the  Opera  Comique,  where  she  re- 
mained for  a  season  singing  lyric  soprano  roles. 

From  Paris  she  went  to  Brussels  where  she 
created  the  leading  part  in  an  opera  founded 
on  the  "  Sleeping  Beauty,"  and  sang  many 
other  parts,  notably  Marguerite  in  "La  Dam- 
nation de  Faust."  The  critics  were  charmed 
with  her  voice  and  her  beauty  of  face  and  figure. 

After  her  success  in  Brussels  she  accepted 
an  engagement  at  Parma,  though  attempts 
were  made  to  dissuade  her.  This  engagement 
proved  to  be  a  stepping-stone  to  Milan,  where 
she  appeared  as  the  heroine  of  Charpentier's 
"  Louise,"  under  the  management  of  Signor 
Gatti-Casazza.  Thence  she  went  to  Covent 
Garden,  and  then  to  Buenos  Ayres  previous  to 
coming  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House. 

It  is  said  that  in  1906  she  was  engaged  for 


BELLA  ALTEN  AS  NEDDA  IN  "  IL  PAGLIACCI  " 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      277 

the  Manhattan  Opera-House,  but  she  never 
sang  there.  Perhaps  there  is  some  truth  in  the 
story  that  an  all  powerful  prima  donna  of  that 
house,  on  hearing  of  this  engagement,  cabled  a 
brief  but  emphatic  message  to  Oscar  Hammer- 
stein,  and  caused  him  to  change  his  mind. 

During  her  career  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  her  best  success  was  made  as  Desde- 
mona  when  Slezak  sang  Otello.  In  this  role  it 
was  said:  "  She  makes  a  beautifully  pathetic 
and  affecting  little  figure  alongside  the  towering 
Slezak,  and  her  acting  has  an  extremely  deli- 
cate and  wistful  beauty.  She  sang  with  a  pure 
and  limpid  beauty  of  voice,  giving  much  variety 
of  expression  to  the  '  Willow  '  song  and  de- 
vout feeling  to  the  '  Ave  Maria.'  "  She  has 
also  been  mentioned  as  "  the  most  brilliant,  the 
most  picturesque  and  most  charming  Manon  on 
the  opera  stage." 

Bella  Alten  has  made  herself  popular  in  New 
York  in  such  roles  as  Musetta  in  "La  Bo- 
heme,"  Nedda  in  "  II  Pagliacci,"  Columbina 
in  "  Donne  Curiose,"  Senta  in  "  The  Flying 
Dutchman,"  and  especially  as  Gretel  in  "  Han- 
sel and  Gretel."  She  studied  with  Engel  and 
Joachim  at  the  Imperial  Conservatory  in  Ber- 
lin, and  later  went  to  Orgeni.  Her  first  appear- 


278  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ance  in  opera  was  made  at  Leipzig,  after  which 
engagements  followed  in  Berlin,  Brunswick, 
Cologne,  and  Covent  Garden.  It  was  while  she 
was  at  Covent  Garden  that  Conried  heard  her 
and  engaged  her  for  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House.  Miss  Alten  is  Mrs.  Hermann  Deri. 

Madame  Lefflor-Burkhardt  secured  leave  of 
absence  from  the  Royal  Opera-House  in  Ber- 
lin in  order  to  come  to  America  and  fill  a  short 
engagement  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-Honse. 
She  was  born  in  Berlin  and  studied  with  Anna 
von  Meisner,  a  pupil  of  Madame  Viardot- 
Garcia. 

Madame  Burkhardt  began  her  career  in  1890 
at  Strassburg,  as  a  coloratura  soprano.  She 
spent  a  season  at  Breslau  and  one  at  Cologne. 
From  1894  to  1898  she  sang  at  Bremen,  and 
there  she  commenced  to  study  dramatic  roles. 
She  then  appeared  at  Weimar  and  at  Wies- 
baden and  in  1906  sang  Kundry  at  Bayreuth. 

Leonora  Sparkes  was  a  well  known  concert 
and  opera  singer  in  England.  Dippel  heard 
her  at  Covent  Garden  and  after  a  private  hear- 
ing offered  her  a  contract  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  in  1908.  She  has  been  a  member 
of  the  company  ever  since. 

Felicie     Kaschowska,     a     Polish     dramatic 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     279 

soprano  who  was  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  in  1908-1909,  came  first  in  1895  as  a  light 
coloratura  soprano.  She  sang  at  Wiesbaden 
and  Frankfort,  and  became  leading  dramatic 
soprano  at  the  Grand  Ducal  Opera-House  at 
Darmstadt. 

Madame  Marianne  Flahaut  was  one  of  the 
leading  beauties  of  the  Paris  Opera-House. 
She  was  born  at  Huy,  near  Liege,  in  Belgium, 
and  was  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  manufac- 
turer. As  she  grew  up  a  longing  for  artistic 
fame  seized  upon  her,  and  she  went  to  the  con- 
servatoire at  Liege,  where  in  the  course  of 
three  years  she  won  first  prizes  for  singing, 
piano  and  opera.  She  was  now  engaged  for  the 
Grand  Opera  at  Paris  and  made  her  debut 
there  as  Amneris  in  "  Aida. "  She  remained 
in  Paris  for  nine  years  before  coming  to  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House,  and  during  that 
time  she  appeared  in  numerous  roles,  among 
which  the  most  successful  were  Erda  with  Jean 
de  Reszke  as  Siegfried,  as  FricJca  and  Ortrud, 
and  as  Fides  in  "  Le  Prophete."  She  also 
made  a  great  success  as  Orpheus  and  it  was 
with  a  view  to  his  revival  of  this  work  in  New 
York  that  Conried  engaged  her,  for  she  seemed 
an  ideal  Orpheus. 


280  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Madame  Flahaut  is  tall  and  stately,  —  six 
feet  or  more,  —  she  has  grace  and  charm,  soft, 
sympathetic  face,  voice  sweet  and  low,  besides 
which  her  manner  has  distinction  and  her  move- 
ments are  harmonious.  Nevertheless  Madame 
Flahaut  did  not  prove  to  be  a  distinct  success. 
She  made  her  American  debut  on  January  8, 
1909,  as  Amneris  in  "  Aida  "  when  she  was 
spoken  of  thus: 

"  Madame  Flahaut  is  a  mezzo-soprano  from 
Paris.  Her  voice  is  of  very  good  quality,  — 
impressive  because  of  the  beauty  of  its  tone. 
She  has  a  strikingly  handsome  presence  and 
displays  knowledge  of  stage  routine.  She  is  a 
valuable  member  of  the  Metropolitan  en- 
semble. ' ' 

Jeanne  Maubourg,  who  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Metropolitan  Company  for  some  years,  was 
previously  engaged  at  the  La  Monnaie  in  Brus- 
sels for  several  seasons.  She  is  a  Belgian  by 
birth  and  belongs  to  a  class  of  singers  called 
the  "  Dugazons,"  who  derived  their  distinction 
from  Madame  Dugazon,  a  celebrated  light 
mezzo-soprano  who  was  the  first  exponent  of 
this  particular  style  of  singing. 

Miss  Maubourg  has  a  large  repertoire  and 
has  become  a  favorite  owing  to  her  extraor- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     281 

dinary  intelligence  and  fascinating  manner  of 
acting.  Before  coming  to  America  she  had  ap- 
peared two  seasons  at  Covent  Garden,  and  had 
sung  at  the  Opera  Comique,  in  Paris. 

On  her  return  to  America,  in  1911,  Miss  Mau- 
bourg  brought  with  her  a  husband,  Claude 
Benedict  from  the  Chatelet  Theatre  in  Paris, 
whose  real  name  is  Claude  Marie  Bede.  The 
marriage  took  place  at  the  City  Hall  in  New 
York,  when  Miss  Maubourg's  real  name  was 
divulged  as  Gossaux.  She  made  her  first  ap- 
pearance at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  as 
Lola  in  "  Cavalleria  Rusticana,"  in  1908. 

Eiccardo  Martin  is  a  native  of  Hopkinsville, 
Kentucky.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  left  home 
and  went  abroad  to  study  the  piano.  He  re- 
turned to  America,  however,  and  entered  Co- 
lumbia University  where  he  became  a  pupil  of 
MacDowell,  who  was  at  that  time  professor  of 
music  in  that  university.  He  acquired  some 
proficiency  in  composition,  and  wrote  several 
songs,  and  a  chorus  which  was  sung  by  the 
Mendelssohn  Glee  Club.  In  this  way  he  came 
in  contact  with  many  singers  of  prominence. 
He  now  returned  to  Germany,  but  soon  went  to 
Italy  and  applied  for  admission  to  the  conserv- 
atory of  San  Pietro  Ameijello.  The  authori- 


282  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ties  heard  him  sing  and  denied  him  admission 
on  the  ground  that  he  had  no  voice  and  no 
musical  talent. 

Being  thus  repulsed,  Mr.  Martin  remained  in 
Naples  and  took  lessons  with  Ben.  Corelli,  who 
taught  him  enough  to  definitely  fix  his  purpose. 
He  next  proceeded  to  Paris  and  became  a  pupU 
of  Sbriglia,  after  which  he  returned  to  New 
York  with  the  intention  of  teaching,  since  he 
could  not  afford  enough  lessons  to  become  a 
singer. 

At  this  point  a  wealthy  citizen  of  New  York 
became  interested  in  him  and  offered  to  see  him 
through  the  preparation  necessary  for  an  oper- 
atic career.  Martin  returned  to  Sbriglia,  but 
he  heard  Caruso  sing  at  the  Sara  Bernhardt 
Theatre,  and  learned  much  from  observation  of 
that  great  artist. 

When  prepared  for  his  debut  he  was  engaged 
at  Nantes,  and  began  his  operatic  career  in  Oc- 
tober, 1904,  singing  in  "  Faust,"  which  was  his 
only  role  during  the  first  season.  An  offer  was 
made  to  him  from  Toulouse,  but  he  declined  it 
because  he  found  that  he  was  expected  to  sing 
dramatic  roles. 

An  engagement  in  Italy  now  came  to  him  and 
he  went  to  Verona  and  sang  Ponchielli's  "  An- 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

RICCARDO   MARTIN 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     283 

drea  Chenier,"  repeating  the  performance 
nineteen  times  in  one  month.  This  gave  him 
a  reputation  in  Italy  and  he  was  invited  to  sing 
the  same  opera  at  the  Del  Verme  Theatre  in 
Milan. 

During  a  stay  in  New  York  he  met  Henry 
Eussell,  manager  of  the  San  Carlo  Opera  Com- 
pany, but  declined  the  offer  then  made  him, 
though  when  it  was  repeated  in  the  following 
year  on  more  satisfactory  terms  he  accepted, 
and  made  his  American  debut  in  New  Orleans 
during  the  season  of  1906-1907. 

Martin  was  asked  to  sing  at  the  Metropoli- 
tan Opera-House  by  Conried,  in  the  presence  of 
Richard  Strauss,  who  offered  him  an  engage- 
ment at  Berlin.  But  it  was  not  until  1908  that 
Mr.  Martin  became  a  member  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Company, 

The  German  importation  for  this  season,  in 
the  way  of  tenors,  was  Eric  Schmedes,  of  whom 
one  account  said:  "  Eric  Schmedes  brought  to 
hearing  a  voice  which  possesses  no  charm  what- 
ever. Some  one  has  written  that  the  singing 
of  some  German  tenors  reminds  one  of  shooting 
an  Edam  cheese  from  the  mouth  of  a  cannon. 
Schmedes  hurls  his  tones  energetically,  —  he  is 
a  giant  with  a  big  voice,  —  but  of  beauty  of  tone 


284  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  of  faultless  tone-production  there  seems  to 
be  but  little  to  record.  He  comes  from  Vienna, 
and  has  been  active  at  Bayreuth. ' ' 

It  was  never  supposed  that  Eric  Schmedes 
was  a  lyric  tenor.  He  was  engaged  to  sing 
heavy  dramatic  parts.  It  appears  to  be  the 
function  of  the  German  tenor  to  sing  dramatic 
roles,  and  to  sing  them  in  a  manner  acceptable 
to  Germans.  Hence,  if  we  import  such  singers 
the  truer  representatives  they  are  of  the  style 
which  they  represent,  the  better  they  fulfil  their 
mission. 

Eric  Schmedes  began  his  career  as  a  baritone 
before  discovering  the  range  and  true  quality 
of  his  voice.  Born  in  Gjautolfla,  near  Copen- 
hagen, he  was  sent  to  Berlin  when  quite  young 
to  study  the  piano.  In  1888  he  sang  some 
Danish  Folksongs  at  an  entertainment  where 
Madame  Viardot-Garcia  was  a  guest.  She  ad- 
vised him  to  study  singing,  so  he  went  to  Ber- 
lin and  became  a  pupil  of  Nicholas  Rothmuhl, 
and  later  of  Artot  Padilla  in  Paris.  He  made 
his  debut  at  the  Court  Theatre  at  Wiesbaden 
as  Valentine  in  "  Faust  "  and  was  engaged  for 
three  years.  In  1894  he  sang  Rigoletto  at  the 
Stadt  Theatre  at  Nuremberg,  and  then  retired 
for  a  year  to  study  with  Ress  at  Vienna.  He 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      285 

appeared  once  more  as  Rigoletto,  but  being  ad- 
vised to  try  tenor  roles  lie  again  retired  and 
studied  with  Issert.  Six  months  later  he  be- 
came first  tenor  at  the  Stadt  Theatre  at  Ham- 
burg. 

Jean  Note,  who  came  to  the  Metropolitan  in 
1908,  was  a  colonel  in  the  Belgian  army  before 
he  became  an  opera  singer.  Moreover,  he  had 
distinguished  himself  for  bravery  and  had  re- 
ceived one  gold  and  two  silver  medals  for  saving 
life.  His  greatest  honor  was  his  being  made  a 
Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  for  risking 
his  life  to  prevent  a  railroad  collision  near 
Paris  in  1898.  M.  Note  was  for  fifteen  years 
first  baritone  at  the  Paris  Opera-House,  where 
the  best  of  his  roles  were  Salammbo,  Messidor, 
Sigurd,  etc. 

Carl  Jorn  came  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  in  February,  1909,  with  a  repertoire  of 
a  hundred  roles  and  a  contract  for  three  years. 
One  critic  declared  that  he  was  the  greatest 
German  tenor  since  Alvary,  and  another  said, 
"  He  has  a  voice  of  little  power,  but  fresh  and 
lyrical,  his  technique  is  better  than  that  of  the 
average  German  singer.  He  gave  no  evidence 
of  histrionic  talent,  yet  his  presentation  was 
intelligent  and  established  him  in  public  favor." 


286  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

At  any  rate  it  is  acknowledged  that  lie  estab- 
lished himself  in  public  favor. 

Jorn  was  the  son  of  parents  not  particularly 
well-to-do.  He  was  educated  in  the  household 
of  the  governor  of  Riga,  where  he  was  born. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  governor  he  became  a 
protege  of  Baron  Vietinjhoff-Scheel.  Jorn  did 
not  discover  that  he  had  a  voice  until  he  was 
eighteen,  and  the  principal  conductor  at  Riga, 
Lohse,  found  promising  traits  and  introduced 
him  to  Schulz-Harinsen,  the  baritone  at  the 
Stadt  Theatre.  For  a  year  he  studied  with  the 
baritone  and  with  a  Mrs.  Jacobs,  but  Berlin 
appealed  to  him  as  a  place  offering  a  future  for 
a  singer,  so  he  went  there  and  studied  with  one 
Ress,  —  son  of  Ress  of  Vienna.  Jorn  made  his 
debut  in  1895  at  Freiburg.  Two  years  later  he 
was  engaged  at  Zurich,  where  he  remained  until 
1899,  when  he  went  to  Hamburg.  In  1902  he 
received  an  appointment  at  the  Berliner  Hof 
Oper.  He  sang  three  seasons  at  Covent  Gar- 
den and  in  all  the  important  cities  of  Europe 
before  coming  to  America. 

Pasquale  Amato  first  appeared  in  America 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  November, 
1908,  and  has  had  a  consistently  successful 
career  in  this  country  ever  since.  He  is  a  native 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

CARL  JORN   AS  LOHENGRIN 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House      287 

of  Naples,  born  in  1879,  and  educated  with  the 
idea  of  becoming  a  naval  officer.  After  his  voice 
was  discovered  he  devoted  his  entire  time  to  the 
study  of  music  under  the  most  prominent  mas- 
ters, and  he  made  his  debut  at  the  Teatro  Bel- 
lini in  his  native  city. 

After  that  the  usual  round  of  engagements 
began,  and  he  toured  Italy,  Germany,  England, 
Egypt  and  South  America,  and  finally  was  lead- 
ing baritone  at  La  Scala  for  two  seasons,  dur- 
ing which  he  created,  in  that  theatre,  the  role 
of  Golaud,  in  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande." 

Signor  Amato  is  one  of  those  singers  who 
have  established  a  firm  grip  upon  the  American 
public.  Besides  being  gifted  with  a  wonderful 
voice,  he  is  possessed  of  unusual  histrionic  abil- 
ity, and  has  revealed  himself  a  singing  actor 
either  in  tragedy,  comedy,  melodrama  or  ro- 
mance. He  has  sung  the  usual  baritone  roles, 
but  the  chief  interest  has  been  centred  in  his 
creation  in  America  of  the  parts  of  King  Had- 
raot  in  "  Armide,"  Carlo  Worms  in  "  Ger- 
mania,"  and  Jack  Ranee  in  "  The  Girl  of  the 
Golden  West."  The  latter  being  the  opera 
which  appeals  to  the  greater  number  of  Ameri- 
cans, the  following  account  is  transcribed  from 
the  Boston  Herald  and  is  supplementary  to  the 


288  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

account  of  Miss  Destinn  who  was  Minnie  in  the 
same  performance. 

"  Mr.  Amato  fell  no  whit  below  her  (Miss 
Destinn)  with  his  Sheriff.  For  the  first  time 
in  our  Opera-House  a  singing-actor  character- 
ized the  part  and  also  sang  the  music.  On  the 
purely  histrionic  side,  Mr.  Amato  surpassed 
himself  and  all  expectation.  Here  was  the 
Sheriff  as  a  pale,  smooth,  sinister  man,  pacing 
nervously  and  abstractedly  up  and  down  the 
floor  of  the  Polka  Saloon,  wandering  in  and  out 
of  it,  full  of  pent  emotions  and  gnawing 
thoughts.  He  seemed  to  watch  for  his  oppor- 
tunity with  Minnie,  to  plead  his  affection  to  her 
without  sinister  under  motive,  but  with  the  in- 
tensity of  genuine  feeling,  to  recoil  under  his 
rebuff  and  to  fall  back  into  sinister  musing 
again.  The  action  of  the  pursuit  was  relief. 
He  came  with  cool  cunning  and  suspicion  into 
the  cabin  on  the  mountain ;  he  watched,  waited, 
surmised,  until  circumstance  seemed  to  make 
him  master  there.  Then  he  seized  her  fiercely, 
only  to  be  thrust  away  again,  only  to  be  bidden 
to  the  ordeal  of  the  cards.  It  pleased  his  gam- 
bler's faith  in  chance,  his  gambler's  bitter 
humor.  He  was  beaten  and  disappeared  into 
the  darkness.  He  might  have  been  sitting  there 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     280 

in  all  the  interval,  ruminating,  hoping,  contri- 
ving, when  the  curtain  rose  upon  the  scene  in 
the  forest.  His  triumph  over  the  captured  out- 
law was  no  show  of  outward  contempt.  It  was 
the  satisfaction,  gleaming  through,  of  an  inner 
and  bitter  hatred.  And  so  at  last  was  the 
Sheriff  characterized  in  outward  and  visible 
action,  in  suggestion  and  revelation  of  inner 
nature  and  spirit,  in  songful  speech,  in  histri- 
onic definition.  Sometimes  Mr.  Amato's  tones 
were  as  pale  and  tense  as  the  Sheriff's  face; 
sometimes  they  were  as  sinister  as  his  eyes; 
once  and  again  they  released  passion;  and  at 
the  end  they  were  the  voice  of  hate  that  waited 
long  and  quietly  for  its  satisfactions.  Together 
the  singer  and  the  composer  made  the  songful 
music  Ranee's  own  speech." 

In  1912  Mr.  Amato  was  "  interviewed  "  in 
regard  to  an  article  in  which  M.  Dalmores  had 
made  observations  regarding  German  and 
Italian  singers.  "  The  Frenchmen  have  many 
qualications  for  the  task  of  interpreting  "Wag- 
nerian  roles,"  said  M.  Dalmores,  "  that  Ger- 
man artists  have  not.  .  .  .  The  Italian  artist 
is  not  successful  as  a  Wagnerian  interpreter. 
He  generally  lacks  musicianship  and  broad 
education."  To  which  Signor  Amato  replied 


290  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

that  the  statements  were  too  general,  and  that 
it  was  not  wise  to  characterize  the  singers  of  a 
nation  by  the  faults  or  virtues  of  any  one  artist. 
"  The  art  of  singing,"  he  said,  "  is  universal, 
and  you  cannot  pick  out  the  singers  of  one  coun- 
try and  say  that  they  are  all  good  or  bad.  It 
is  absurd  to  say  that  there  are  national  schools 
of  singing.  Just  as  the  world  recognizes  the 
genius  of  a  Velasquez  and  a  Baphael,  a  Wagner 
and  a  Debussy,  so  will  the  Wagnerian  singer 
be  judged  by  his  individual  talent  and  not  by 
his  nationality."  All  of  which  seems  to  be  good 
common  sense.  Are  there  not  too  many  classi- 
fications in  matters  of  art?  Or  rather,  do  not 
the  classifications  apply  to  mediocrity,  and  do 
not  the  great  works,  great  singers,  and  things 
that  are  great  generally  rise  above  the  ordinary 
classifications? 

Leo  Rains,  who  is  a  New  Yorker  by  birth, 
and  has  been  called  the  pioneer  of  American 
singers  on  the  German  stage,  began  his  career 
as  a  boy  soprano  in  "  Francesca  de  Kimini," 
in  1883,  with  Lawrence  Barrett,  the  tragedian. 
In  1896,  after  studying  for  six  years  with  Oscar 
Saenger,  he  went  to  Paris  and  studied  with 
Jacques  Bouhy  for  a  year,  and  then  secured  an 
engagement  with  the  Damrosch-Ellis  Company 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,   New  York 

PASQUALE   AMATO 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     291 

in  his  native  land.  In  1899  he  was  invited  to 
sing  as  a  "  guest  ' '  at  the  Dresden  Royal  Opera, 
as  a  result  of  which  he  remained  at  that  house 
for  ten  years.  With  the  exception  of  a  short 
engagement  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
in  1908  he  has  remained  in  Germany.  He  holds 
the  title  of  Royal  Chamber  singer  at  Dresden 
and  has  established  a  great  reputation  as  a 
singer  of  German  Lieder. 

Allen  Hinckley,  who  joined  the  Metropolitan 
Company  in  1908,  was  born  in  Dorchester, 
Mass.  He  attended  the  public  schools  in  Bos- 
ton and  in  Providence,  to  which  city  his  family 
moved  during  his  boyhood.  He  entered  Am- 
herst  College,  but  changed  to  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  prominent  in  musical 
matters  in  both  colleges,  being  a  member  of 
their  glee  clubs.  He  also  sang  in  choirs  and 
directed  a  choir  and  choral  society. 

He  now  secured  an  engagement  with  the  Bos- 
tomans,  a  well  known  "  English  opera  "  com- 
pany of  those  days,  and  sang  with  them  for  two 
seasons.  Going  abroad  he  was  very  soon  en- 
gaged at  the  Hamburg  opera  as  principal  basso, 
making  his  debut  as  the  King  in  '  *  Lohengrin. ' ' 

After  five  years  at  the  Hamburg  opera,  dur- 
ing which  he  sang  at  Covent  Garden,  and  two 


292  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

seasons  at  Bayreuth,  Mr.  Hinckley  was  secured 
for  the  Metropolitan  Company. 

In  1909  Mr.  Hinckley  was  to  have  sung 
Gurnemanz  at  Bayreuth,  but  he  was  eliminated 
from  that  cast  on  account  of  having  sung  the 
part  in  New  York.  It  is  said  that  the  reason 
given  at  Bayreuth  was  that  there  would  be  in- 
sufficient time  for  rehearsals,  but  in  New  York 
Mr.  Hinckley  is  said  to  have  sung  the  part  with- 
out rehearsal,  and  to  have  been  very  successful. 

Walter  Soomer  came  to  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  in  1909  to  take  the  place  of  Fein- 
hals  who  made  his  last  appearance  in  Brooklyn 
on  February  the  17th  and  sailed  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  Soomer  came  from  Leipzig,  and  had 
appeared  at  Bayreuth  in  1908. 

Herbert  Witherspoon,  one  of  the  best  known 
oratorio  singers  in  America,  surprised  his 
friends  by  accepting  an  engagement  at  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera-House  in  1908,  and  has  since 
distinguished  himself  in  Wagnerian  roles. 

Mr.  Witherspoon  was  born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
and  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Orlando  Witherspoon. 
He  was  educated  at  Hopkin's  Grammar  School 
in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  at  Yale  University, 
where  he  took  the  degree  of  B.  A.  with  special 
honors  in  1895.  He  studied  two  years  in  the 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     293 

music  department  and  two  years  in  the  art 
school  at  Yale.  During  his  college  career  he 
began  the  serious  study  of  the  voice  and  later 
with  leading  teachers  in  Paris,  London,  and 
Berlin.  He  made  his  professional  debut  as  a 
concert  singer  in  New  York  with  Mr.  Walter 
Damrosch  and  his  orchestra  in  1897,  when  he 
sang  excerpts  from  "  Parsifal."  From  that 
time  he  led  a  busy  life  as  a  concert  and  ora- 
torio singer,  having  toured  several  times  with 
the  Pittsburg  and  Theodore  Thomas  orches- 
tras, and  appeared  with  leading  organizations 
in  America  and  in  England,  where  he  met  with 
very  good  success. 

Mr.  Witherspoon's  engagement  with  the  Met- 
ropolitan Company  did  not  mark  the  beginning 
of  his  operatic  career,  for  after  his  study  in 
Paris  in  1898  he  made  his  operatic  debut  with 
Henry  M.  Savage's  Castle  Square  Company  in 
New  York,  and  sang  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  performances  in  leading  bass  roles. 
At  the  end  of  his  fourth  season  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  Mr.  Witherspoon  was  en- 
gaged for  two  seasons  more.  His  best  successes 
have  been  as  Gurnemanz  in  "  Parsifal,"  King 
Heinrich  in  "  Lohengrin,"  Landgraf  Hermann 
in  "  Tannhauser,"  Pogner  in  "  Die  Meister- 


294  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

singer,"  and  Konig  Marke  in  "  Tristan  und 
Isolde."  Besides  his  admirable  voice  Mr. 
Witherspoon  has  much  histrionic  ability  and  is 
noted  for  his  excellent  diction. 

The  season  of  1908-1909  opened  with  a  superb 
performance  of  "  Aida,"  and  on  the  second 
night  "  Die  Walkiire  "  was  given  in  a  manner 
which  had  not  been  surpassed  in  New  York. 
D 'Albert's  "  Tiefland  "  was  produced  on  No- 
vember 23,  but  was  a  complete  failure,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  there  was  too  much  dialogue, 
which  wearied  the  audience.  New  York  audi- 
ences want  matters  to  keep  moving.  On  De- 
cember 17  Puccini's  "  Le  Villi  "  was  given,  but 
also  failed  to  please.  On  January  6,  1909, 
Catalani 's  "  La  Wally,"  given  for  the  first  time 
in  America,  did  not  make  a  great  success,  but 
Smetana's  "  Bartered  Bride,"  produced  on 
February  19,  was  more  satisfactory.  The  other 
novelties  of  the  season  were  a  revival  of  "  Fal- 
staff,"  and  the  production  of  Laparra's  "  Ha- 
banera "  and  Tschaikowsky's  "  Pique  Dame." 

Thirty-two  operas  were  given,  —  one  hundred 
and  thirty-four  performances. 

The  end  of  the  season  of  1908-1909  found 
matters  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in 
a  very  disturbed  condition.  The  dual  control 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     295 

had  evidently  not  worked  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner. 

When  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  and  Mr.  Toscanini, 
the  conductor,  arrived  in  New  York  they  found 
the  opera-house  teeming  with  intrigue  and 
jealousies  and  quarrels  among  the  singers,  be- 
sides being  more  or  less  hampered  with  old 
obligations,  and  pressed  with  a  multiplicity  of 
undertakings.  They  came  with  the  reputation 
of  men  who  were  accustomed  to  enforcing  their 
authority  and  discipline,  and  they  proceeded 
to  do  so.  Consequently  the  inner  history  of 
that  season  is  full  of  "  incidents  "  between  the 
conductor  and  the  singers.  One  popular  favor- 
ite of  many  years  refused  to  alter  her  inter- 
pretation of  her  part  to  suit  Mr.  Toscanini,  — 
and  her  health  suddenly  gave  way.  Some  re- 
fused to  attend  rehearsals,  but  discovered  that 
they  must  do  so  or  resign.  The  orchestra  com- 
plained of  too  much  rehearsal.  When  the 
singers  went  to  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  to  complain 
of  Mr.  Toscanini  they  were  told  that  he  must 
be  obeyed.  Then  they  appealed  for  sympathy 
to  Mr.  Dippel. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  season  Mr.  Gatti- 
Casazza  and  Mr.  Toscanini  were  re-engaged 
for  three  years,  while  Mr.  Dippel  was  offered 


296  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

a  somewhat  subordinate  position.  This  aroused 
the  sympathy  of  certain  of  the  singers  and  they 
sent  a  letter  to  the  directors  asking  that  Mr. 
Dippel  should  also  receive  a  renewal  of  his 
contract,  for  three  years.  The  reply  was  quite 
prompt  and  very  brief.  It  simply  stated  that 
"  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  is  director  of  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House." 

One  of  the  curious  features  of  the  situation 
was  that  the  Italian  singers  were  prominent  in 
the  support  of  Mr.  Dippel,  a  German,  while  Mr. 
Gatti-Casazza  and  Mr.  Toscanini,  Italians,  were 
praised  for  giving  the  finest  performances  of 
Wagner  that  had  been  witnessed  in  New  York. 

The  excitement  was  warm  while  it  lasted,  and 
a  variety  of  opinions  were  expressed  by  those 
who  favored  one  side  or  the  other.  One  critic 
declared  that  while  some  of  the  productions  had 
been  excellent,  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza,  who  got  the 
credit,  had  been  merely  an  uninterested  spec- 
tator. 

One  feature  of  the  director's  difficulties  was 
expressed  thus :  *  *  The  artistic  situation  at  the 
Metropolitan  is  at  the  mercy  of  people  whose 
theory  of  life  seems  to  be  that  it  is  a  continued 
vaudeville  show.  The  demand  of  society  is  that 
from  9  to  10.30  the  stage  should  be  occupied 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     297 

by  some  great  singer  or  spectacle  of  unusual 
interest." 

The  solution  of  the  problem  gave  satisfaction 
to  most  people.  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  reigned 
supreme  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  and 
there  is  no  more  dual  control.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Opera  Com- 
pany gave  an  opportunity  for  the  unhampered 
use  of  Mr.  Dippel  's  excellent  managerial  ability. 

The  season  of  1909-1910  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  opened  with  a  long  list  of  an- 
nouncements, and  a  long  list  of  singers,  many 
of  whom  faded  into  obscurity  after  a  hear- 
ing. But  before  proceeding  with  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  season  it  would  be  well  to 
mention  the  New  Theatre,  in  which  an  operatic 
enterprise  was  started,  but  did  not  prove  pros- 
perous or  last  long.  Twenty-five  operas  were 
given,  —  fifty-four  performances,  the  season 
opening  on  November  16,  1909,  with  a  perform- 
ance of  Massenet's  "  Werther  "  in  which  Ger- 
aldine  Farrar  and  Edmond  Clement  were  the 
principals.  This  was  M.  Clement's  first  ap- 
pearance in  America  and  the  impression  which 
he  created  was  most  favorable,  and  has  been 
amply  verified  by  his  subsequent  career. 
"  Werther  "  had  Hs  initial  performance  in 


298  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

America  at  the  Metropolitan  in  1894,  when  the 
chief  parts  were  taken  by  Emma  Eames  and 
Jean  de  Reszke,  so  that  this  at  the  New  Theatre 
was  a  revival.  In  addition  to  M.  Clement  two 
other  good  singers  made  their  first  appearance 
on  the  same  occasion,  Alma  Gluck,  and  Dinh 
Gilly,  —  soprano  and  baritone,  and  both  met 
with  good  success. 

Madame  Alma  Gluck  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
cent and  most  successful  of  the  younger 
singers.  She  made  her  debut  in  New  York  at 
the  New  Theatre  in  1909,  as  Sophie  in 
"  Werther."  The  story  of  her  rise  to  celeb- 
rity is  most  interesting. 

Madame  Gluck  was  born  at  Bucharest,  Rou- 
mania,  and  came  with  her  parents  to  New  York 
when  a  small  child.  Her  maiden  name  was 
Reba  Fierson,  and  she  is  said  to  have  been 
employed  as  a  stenographer  in  the  office  of  a 
young  lawyer  in  New  York,  previous  to  her 
marriage  to  Mr.  Gluck,  which  took  place  when 
she  was  still  quite  young. 

It  is  said  that  one  summer  when  she  was  in 
the  Adirondacks  her  singing  (as  an  amateur) 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  gentleman,  who  ad- 
vised her  to  go  to  Signor  Buzzi-Peccia,  and 
take  lessons.  This  she  did,  but  with  no  idea  of 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     290 

an  operatic  career.  She  merely  wanted  to 
learn  to  sing  well,  and  with  that  idea  she 
worked  hard,  and  in  three  years  had  a  reper- 
toire of  ten  operas.  In  1909  her  teacher  sug- 
gested that  she  should  sing  for  Mr.  Gatti- 
Casazza,  and  to  her  surprise  he  offered  her  a 
contract  for  five  years,  which  she  accepted. 

During  the  following  summer  she  went  with 
her  teacher  to  Europe  and  heard  operas.  One 
of  these  was  "  Werther,"  which  she  heard  in 
Paris,  and  liked  so  much  that  she  learned  it. 
On  her  return  to  New  York  "  Werther  "  was 
being  rehearsed  and  she  was  told  to  sing  it  at 
rehearsals,  as  the  soprano  who  had  been  en- 
gaged for  that  part  had  not  arrived.  When  the 
artist  did  arrive  Mr.  Dippel  did  not  like  her 
interpretation  of  the  part,  so  Madame  Gluck 
sang  it  at  the  performance,  and  stepped  at  once 
into  fame. 

During  the  season  she  sang  eleven  different 
roles  in  "  Boheme,"  "  Pique  Dame,"  "  Stra- 
della,"  "Orfeo,"  "Maestro  di  Capella," 
"The  Bartered  Bride,"  "Faust,"  "  Rhein- 
gold,"  and  of  these  only  two,  Marguerite  and 
Mimi,  were  among  the  ten  which  she  had 
studied  previous  to  her  contract. 

Her   opportunity  to   sing  Marguerite  came 


300   The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

about  through  the  illness  of  Madame  Alda. 
The  opera  was  to  be  given  in  Baltimore,  and 
Madame  Gluck  was  sent  on  at  short  notice. 
The  people  at  Baltimore  were  much  annoyed  at 
the  change  of  cast,  but  forgot  their  grievance 
as  the  opera  proceeded.  One  of  the  critics 
wrote:  "  Instead  of  Madame  Alda  a  beginner 
was  sent  to  us.  It  was  evidently  a  case  of  fry- 
ing her  on  the  dog,  but  in  this  instance  we  beg 
to  state  that  the  dog  was  well  satisfied." 

During  the  two  seasons  that  she  has  been 
before  the  public  Madame  Gluck  has  been  one 
of  the  most  successful  singers,  and  is  a  remark- 
able instance  of  those  who,  with  practically  no 
European  training  or  experience,  have  found 
their  opportunity  and  made  good  use  of  it. 

We  may  be  permitted  to  quote  one  criticism 
of  Madame  Gluck,  made  when  she  appeared  as 
Venus  in  "  Tannhauser."  It  describes  the 
charm  of  her  voice,  and  of  her  art : 

"  Madame  Gluck 's  artistic  advancement  has 
been  rapid,  very  rapid,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
many  of  her  sincere  well  wishers  would  urge 
her  to  add  Venus  to  her  repertory  at  this  period 
in  her  career.  The  voice  of  this  young  singer 
is  a  lovely,  liquid,  lyric  soprano.  All  New  York 
admires  her  voice  and  her  beautiful  method. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     301 

So  long  as  its  possessor  remains  within  the 
realm  of  lyric  roles  the  exquisite  texture  of  the 
voice  will  not  be  marred.  This  is  not  to  say 
that  Madame  Gluck  should  never  attempt  a  role 
like  Venus.  Five  or  ten  years  hence,  when  her 
physique  is  stronger  and  her  voice  gains  more 
power  and  dramatic  color,  she  may  follow  other 
lyric  sopranos  and  sing  dramatic  roles.  Last 
Saturday  night  the  slim  youthfulness  of  the 
Venus  and  the  natural  chaste  purity  of  her 
voice  did  not  present  the  kind  of  enchantress 
which  the  author  portrayed.  The  voice  of  the 
singer  was  spiritual  and  virginal,  and  her  girl- 
ishness  was  in  strong  contrast  to  the  bulky 
form  of  Carl  Burrian,  the  Tannhauser.  Of 
course,  Madame  Gluck  sang  finely,  but  her  song 
was  angelic,  not  sensuous.  Gifted  with  uncom- 
mon intelligence,  she  was  able  to  do  much 
toward  creating  an  impression  on  the  dramatic 
side,  but  altogether,  her  appearance  and  vocal- 
ism  suggested  things  celestial,  not  terrestrial." 
Edmond  Clement  was  a  boy  soprano  when 
studying  at  the  Polytechnic  at  Chartres  pre- 
paratory to  entering  the  university,  for  he  was 
intended  to  be  a  civil  engineer.  He  sang  at  the 
Cathedral,  as  did  also  his  brother  Georges,  who 
became  a  throat  specialist  in  Paris.  His  voice 


302  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

developed  into  a  light,  sweet  tenor,  and  he  went 
to  study  at  the  Conservatoire.  At  the  end  of  a 
year  he  took  a  prize  for  singing,  under  Pro- 
fessor Warot.  He  was  asked  to  join  the  Opera 
Comique,  although  he  had  taken  no  lessons  in 
acting,  and  knew  nothing  but  the  singing.  His 
debut  was  made  in  Gounod's  "  Mireille,"  and 
he  worked  hard  to  make  the  most  of  his  oppor- 
tunity. 

Edmond  Clement  is  regarded  by  many  as  the 
greatest  French  tenor  of  the  present  day,  and 
since  his  first  appearance  in  America  the  critics 
have  been  practically  unanimous  in  declaring 
that  in  the  artistry  of  song  he  has  no  superior. 
He  has  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  as 
firmly  in  the  favor  of  opera  and  concert  audi- 
ences in  America  as  he  previously  did  in  Eu- 
rope. 

M.  Clement  has  been  engaged  at  the  Opera 
Comique  for  some  twenty  years.  He  has  also 
sung  in  every  principal  theatre  of  Europe.  In 
America  he  has  been,  since  1909,  a  member  of 
the  Metropolitan  Company  and  has  sung  in  the 
chief  cities  of  America  with  the  Metropolitan 
Company  and  as  a  guest. 

While  he  has  appeared  in  many  roles,  per- 
haps the  most  popular  one  is  that  of  Don  Jose 


EDMOND   CLEMENT 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     303 

in    "  Carmen,"    of    which    a    review    is    here 
quoted : 

"  M.  Clement  made  an  ineffaceable  impres- 
sion when  he  appeared  here  as  Jose  last  season, 
with  Marguerita  Sylva  in  the  title  role,  but  if 
recollection  is  not  deceitful,  he  was  even  more 
striking  this  afternoon,  probably  on  account  of 
the  splendid  foil  provided  by  the  joyous  animal 
vitality  and  the  real  dramatic  force  of  Mme. 
Gay's  Carmen.  Each  impersonation,  most  hap- 
pily contrasted,  gained  by  the  other.  M.  Cle- 
ment is  past-master  of  the  traditions  of  his  role. 
Fortunately  he  is  also  a  great  interpretative 
artist.  He  moulded  his  own  conception  to  col- 
laborate with  Mme.  Gay,  or  it  might  be  better  to 
say,  that  in  Mme.  Gay  he  found  the  best  pos- 
sible collaborator  to  further  his  own  ideas.  At 
any  rate,  his  business  on  the  stage  differed  in 
certain  groupings  and  in  certain  climaxes  from 
his  performances  remembered  from  last  season, 
but  he  built  up  his  character  and  its  dramatic 
development  with  even  surer,  more  masterly 
strokes  than  at  that  time.  His  singing,  his 
remarkable  artistic  employment  of  a  small  voice 
is  now  too  well  known  in  the  principal  cities  of 
this  country  to  call  for  any  extended  remarks 
upon  that  score,  but  it  is  impossible  to  forbear 


304  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

from  speaking  of  the  histrionic  side  of  his 
achievements.  Whatever  the  effect  he  desired 
to  achieve,  it  was  procured  with  the  most  re- 
markable economy  of  effort,  with  such  unos- 
tentatious mastery  that  even  when  the  final 
climax  was  reached  in  the  last  scene,  and  the 
audience  simply  tense  watching  him,  there 
seemed  to  be  left  a  certain  amount  of  reserve. 
And  the  final  scene,  from  the  moment  that  the 
man  staggered  in,  worn,  haggard,  a  growth  of 
weeks  on  his  face,  with  the  eyes  of  a  fiend,  was 
given  with  an  intensity  that  forbade  applause 
when  the  curtain  fell." 

When  M.  Clement  resigned  from  the  Metro- 
politan Company  in  1910  his  withdrawal  was 
considered  to  be  further  evidence  of  the  inten- 
tion to  Italianize  the  Metropolitan  Company  to 
the  disadvantage  of  the  French  and  German 
members.  Clement  was  informed  by  Signor 
Gatti-Casazza,  so  we  are  told,  that  if  he  was 
engaged  for  the  next  season  he  would  be  re- 
quired to  sing  chiefly  in  Italian  roles,  taking 
the  place  of  Bonci,  who  went  into  concert  sing- 
ing. This,  following  on  the  disappointing  treat- 
ment of  Madame  Delna,  seemed  to  indicate  "  a 
line  of  policy." 

Dinh  Gilly  is  the  name  of  an  Algerian  bari- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     305 

tone,  educated  in  French  schools  and  with  the 
experience  of  French  opera-houses,  who  made 
his  American  debut  at  the  New  Theatre  in  1909. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company,  and  has  generally  been 
considered  a  satisfactory  singer.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  was  called  upon  to  sing  Rigoletto  as 
a  substitute  for  Maurice  Renaud,  who  was 
taken  ill.  He  acquitted  himself  well,  presenting 
an  interpretation  of  the  part  that  was  dramatic- 
ally powerful,  consistently  composed  and  defi- 
nitely outlined. 

A  somewhat  similar  opportunity  came  to  him 
in  Boston  in  December,  1910,  when  he  took  the 
part  of  the  Toreador  in  "  Carmen,"  and  both 
sang  and  acted  impressively.  "  He  has  a  fine 
and  resonant  voice,"  wrote  one  of  the  critics, 
11  his  diction  is  well  nigh  perfect,  and  his  dra- 
matic conception  of  the  role  of  the  Toreador 
is  admirable.  Only  Baklanoff  has  equalled  the 
Frenchman  from  Algeria,  in  recent  years,  and 
beyond  that  there  is  a  far  cry  back  to  Del  Puente 
in  his  graceful  decline." 

One  of  the  amusing  features  of  the  season  of 
1909-1910  was  that  both  the  Metropolitan  and 
the  Manhattan  Companies  opened  their  Phila- 
delphia season  with  a  performance  of  "  Aida," 


306  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

each  making  the  greatest  possible  effort  to 
outdo  the  other.  The  Metropolitan  cast  in- 
cluded Gadski,  Homer,  Caruso  and  Amato, 
while  the  Manhattan  put  forward  Madame 
d 'Alvarez,  Madame  Mazarin,  Nicola  Zerola, 
and  Polese. 

The  season  of  1909-1910  opened  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  with  "  La  Gioconda,"  on 
November  15,  with  a  cast  including  Caruso, 
Emmy  Destinn,  Louise  Homer,  Amato  and 
Anna  Meitschek,  who  made  her  debut. 

"  Parsifal  "  was  given  on  November  25  with 
Olive  Fremstadt  as  Kundry,  Clarence  White- 
hill  as  Amfortas,  Blass  as  Gurnemanz,  Burrian 
as  Parsifal  and  Goritz  as  Klingsor. 

On  December  23  there  was  a  revival  of 
Gluck's  "  Orfeo  e  Eurydice,"  in  which  Louise 
Homer  and  Madame  Gadski  took  the  leading 
parts  with  notable  success. 

Verdi's  "  Otello  "  was  given  on  November 
17  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  new  tenor, 
Slezak,  who  manifested  a  voice  of  rare  quality, 
and  created  a  marked  impression.  Madame 
Alda  played  Desdemona.  Slezak  succeeded 
also,  during  the  season,  as  Rhadames  in 
"  Aida  "  and  as  Manrico  in  "  II  Trovatore," 
but  his  impersonation  of  Tannhduser  stands 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     307 

out  as  one  of  the  most  patent  characterizations 
of  the  role  given  by  any  artist. 

The  first  American  performance  of  Fran- 
chetti's  opera,  "  Germania,"  was  given  on 
January  22,  1910,  with  Emmy  Destinn,  Caruso 
and  Amato  in  the  leading  parts.  This  opera 
was  produced  at  La  Scala,  Milan,  in  1902. 

On  March  18  an  American  opera, ' '  The  Pipe 
of  Desire,"  by  Converse,  was  produced,  all  the 
principals  being  American  except  one,  Leonora 
Sparkes,  who  is  English.  The  other  principals 
were  Louise  Homer,  Eiccardo  Martin,  Clarence 
"Whitehill,  and  Herbert  Witherspoon.  This 
work  is  reported  as  lacking  realism  and  pic- 
torial qualities,  but  skilfully  put  together,  and 
having  some  expression  and  beautiful  passages. 
It  had  been  previously  performed  (semi-pri- 
vately)  at  Jordan  Hall  in  Boston. 

During  the  season  thirty-seven  operas  were 
given  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House,  seven- 
teen being  Italian,  twelve  German,  five  French, 
and  one  each  American,  Bohemian  and  Russian. 

Blanche  Arral,  who  joined  the  Metropolitan 
Company  in  the  season  of  1909-1910,  is  of 
French  and  Belgian  descent.  She  is  the  seven- 
teenth child  in  a  well  known  musical  family 
named  L'Ardenois  of  Liege,  Belgium.  When 


308  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

she  was  ten  years  old  she  won  first  prize  for 
singing  and  piano-playing  at  the  Brussels  Con- 
servatoire, and  Prince  Chimay,  president  of  the 
board  of  judges  that  awarded  the  prizes,  per- 
suaded her  parents  to  send  her  to  Paris  for 
further  study.  She  was  at  the  Paris  Conserva- 
toire for  three  years,  part  of  which  time  she 
was  a  pupil  of  Marchesi.  At  the  conclusion  of 
her  course  she  gained  a  first  prize  for  singing 
and  was  awarded  a  place  in  the  Opera  Comique, 
where  she  made  her  debut  in  the  role  of  Mignon, 
which  was  followed  by  Manon,  Juliet,  Carmen, 
and  Lakme. 

For  three  years  she  remained  at  the  Opera 
Comique  and  she  was  then  two  years  at  the 
Imperial  Theatre  Michel.  She  sang  much  in 
Russia  and  was  decorated  by  the  Czar.  After 
a  tour  of  Europe  and  Egypt  (where  she  was 
decorated  by  the  Khedive)  she  returned  to 
Paris  and  Maurice  Grau  sought  her  and  made 
a  contract  for  three  years,  but  a  severe  illness 
prevented  her  from  singing  at  the  Metropoli- 
tan Opera-House  then,  and  she  returned  to  Eu- 
rope without  making  an  appearance. 

Miss  Arral  toured  Australia  at  the  head  of 
her  own  company.  In  October,  1908,  she  sang 
at  the  Van  Ness  Theatre  in  San  Francisco, 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     309 

when  she  made  such  a  success  that  some 
thought  she  overshadowed  Tetrazzini,  and  the 
reports  were  so  encouraging  that  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  people  secured  her. 

In  October,  1909,  she  made  her  debut  in  New 
York.  She  was  described  as  a  small  woman 
with  a  mass  of  dark  hair,  attractive  presence, 
beautiful  voice.  Upper  notes  clear  and  bell-like 
and  extraordinarily  good  low  notes  for  one  with 
such  a  high  range. 

Anna  Case,  a  young  member  of  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  Company,  is  the  daughter  of  a 
mechanic  who  made  a  specialty  of  blacksmith's 
work.  Her  home  is  in  South  Branch,  New 
Jersey,  and  when  she  was  about  fifteen  years 
of  age  she  began  to  learn  how  to  shoe  horses. 
While  at  this  work  she  amused  herself  by  sing- 
ing, and  in  the  course  of  time  her  friends,  be- 
coming convinced  of  her  vocal  possibilities, 
urged  her  to  take  lessons  and  advanced  the 
money  for  that  purpose.  In  due  course  An- 
dreas Dippel  heard  her  sing,  and  was  pleased 
with  her  voice,  which  is  a  high  soprano.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  she  became  a  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company,  taking  small  parts,  and 
doing  them  so  well  that  her  prospects  are  con- 
sidered excellent.  At  the  close  of  her  first  con- 


310  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tract  she  was  re-engaged  for  a  number  of  years. 
Her  voice  is  a  lyric  soprano  of  good  volume  and 
a  wide  range,  reaching  with  ease  to  F  in  alt. 
She  was  trained  in  New  York  by  Madame  Ohr- 
strom-Renard. 

Jane  Noria  was  spoken  of  as  one  of  the 
youngest  and  most  beautiful  grand  opera 
singers  of  the  day.  She  is  an  American,  born 
in  St.  Louis,  and  she  made  her  debut  under  her 
family  name,  Josephine  Ludwig.  She  sang 
leading  parts  in  an  English  opera  company  in 
America  before  going  to  Europe.  She  eventu- 
ally secured  an  engagement  with  the  Paris 
Grand  Opera  and  succeeded  well  as  Margue- 
rite, Juliet,  Elsa,  Elizabeth,  etc.  She  joined  the 
Metropolitan  Company  in  1909. 

Bernice  de  Pasquali  is  the  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain William  James  of  Hull,  Mass.,  the  town 
which  is  known  as  the  political  barometer  of  its 
State.  At  the  age  of  eight  she  began  her  studies 
at  the  National  Conservatory  in  New  York,  and 
at  sixteen  she  was  already  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  that  institution.  At  the  same  time, 
one  Salvadore  Mangione  de  Pasquali  was  also 
employed  there  as  a  teacher,  and  he  became 
attentive  to  her.  They  were  married  in  1896. 
Since  1902  Madame  de  Pasquali  has  gone 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 
BERNICE   DE   PASQUALI   AS 


GILDA   IN    "  RIGOLETTO 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     311 

abroad  three  times,  appearing  in  London,  Ber- 
lin, and  St.  Petersburg,  and  finally  in  Paris. 
She  also  sang  for  two  years  in  Milan  and 
Rome,  her  most  successful  roles  being  the 
soprano  parts  in  "  Rigoletto,"  "  La  Boheme," 
"  II  Barbiere,"  "  Lucia,"  "  I  Puritani,"  and 
11  Faust." 

She  made  her  American  debut  in  January, 
1909,  in  "  La  Traviata,"  but  though  her  stage 
presence  was  attractive  and  she  made  excellent 
use  of  the  few  dramatic  possibilities  offered  by 
the  work,  she  was  nervous  and  did  not  do  her- 
self justice.  The  audience  was  sympathetic. 

In  March,  1912,  she  again  appeared  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House,  and  this  time  met 
with  greater  success.  The  following  account  of 
her  performance  appeared  in  one  of  the  jour- 
nals: 

"  Mme.  de  Pasquali's  work  commended  itself 
highly  to  connoisseurs  when  she  first  appeared 
at  this  house  a  few  years  ago,  and  she  has  grown 
to  be  a  far  greater  and  more  finished  artist  in 
the  meanwhile. 

"  Both  vocally  and  dramatically  Mme.  de 
Pasquali  has  improved  greatly  since  she  was 
last  heard  here.  Her  tones  were  very  beautiful 
—  particularly  in  the  upper  register,  where 


312  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

they  were  of  limpid  purity  —  and  she  demon- 
strated conclusively  that  emotional  coloring  of 
the  voice  is  not  necessarily  incompatible  with 
coloratura  singing." 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  how  Madame 
Pasquali  got  her  first  engagement  in  Milan.  On 
her  arrival  her  husband  visited  an  agent  but 
found  little  encouragement.  "  All  the  com- 
panies were  full,  —  there  was  nothing  at  pres- 
ent." While  they  were  talking  the  telephone 
bell  rang  and  a  manager  wanted  a  soprano  im- 
mediately as  his  own  was  ill.  By  great  per- 
suasion the  agent  agreed  that  Madame  de  Pas- 
quali might  be  one  of  twenty-five  to  sing  for  the 
manager,  and  she  got  the  engagement. 

Florence  Wickham  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  was  educated  at  Beaver  College  in 
her  home  town,  where  she  received  a  gold  medal 
for  vocal  excellence.  She  studied  in  Berlin 
under  Lilli  Lehmann  and  Frau  Mallinger  and 
Franz  Emmerich,  and  made  her  first  profes- 
sional appearance  at  the  Royal  Court  Theatre 
at  Wiesbaden  when  twenty  years  of  age.  She 
then  sang  at  the  Royal  Theatre  in  Munich  and 
was  then  engaged  by  Henry  M.  Savage  for  his 
"  Parsifal  "  company  with  which,  as  Kundry, 
she  toured  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     313 

States.  She  then  returned  to  Europe  and  ap- 
peared in  many  of  the  leading  opera-houses, 
until  she  was  engaged  for  the  Metropolitan 
Company.  In  the  summer  of  1910,  at  a  court 
concert  in  Berlin,  Miss  Wickham  was  pre- 
sented with  a  medallion  for  Arts  and  Sciences 
and  the  title  of  Court  Singer. 

In  private  life  Miss  Wickham  is  Mrs.  Eber- 
hardt  Lueder. 

One  Mademoiselle  L'Huillier  was  engaged  to 
sing  the  part  of  the  child  in  "  Tiefland  "  and 
it  was  intended  that  she  should  also  appear  as 
Musetta,  but  she  did  not  prove  acceptable  to 
the  critical  New  Yorkers  except  in  the  matter 
of  "  looking  pretty."  In  her  place  Miss  Leo- 
nora Sparkes  was  put,  after  a  hurried  coaching 
in  the  part.  Miss  Sparkes  is  an  English  singer. 
Her  blonde  type  of  beauty  was  criticized  as  not 
suggesting  the  Parisian  working  girl  of  the 
'30 's,  but  she  was  acceptable  in  the  part  and  is 
still  a  member  of  the  Metropolitan  Company. 
In  fact,  she  was  the  only  singer  not  of  Ameri- 
can birth,  who  took  part  in  the  production  of 
Prof.  Horatio  Parker's  opera,  "  Mona,"  in 
1912. 

Elvira  de  Hidalgo  was  one  of  the  prima 
donnas  of  the  Metropolitan  Company  at  seven- 


314  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

teen  years  of  age.  Born  in  Barcelona,  she  re- 
ceived her  early  training  in  Milan,  in  fact,  all 
her  training  was  early,  for  she  ran  away  from 
home  at  twelve  years  of  age  because  her 
parents  objected  to  the  stage.  When  they  dis- 
covered her  she  was  singing  a  small  role  in  one 
of  the  leading  theatres  of  Milan.  She  was  at- 
tractive, and  made  her  debut  in  * '  II  Barbiere  ' ' 
on  March  8,  1910. 

Eva  Grippon,  who  came  as  a  dramatic 
soprano  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in 
1910,  made  her  debut  in  1906  at  Nice  in  the 
"  Grands  Concerts  Symphoniques. "  Her 
first  teacher  was  Rosina  Laborde,  who  also 
taught  Emma  Calve  and  Marie  Delna,  and 
later  she  was  a  pupil  of  Jean  Lasalle,  and  of 
Rosita  Maud  of  the  Opera,  in  the  subtle  art  of 
gesture  and  mimic  expression.  She  made  great 
progress  during  the  first  three  years  of  her 
career.  She  was  at  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  in  1909. 

Probably  the  first  accounts  of  Marie  Delna 
to  reach  this  country  were  those  announced  by 
Col.  Mapleson  in  the  '90 's.  She  was  then 
hardly  known  in  her  own  country,  and  the  in- 
vincible colonel  made  a  great  effort  to  secure 
her  for  his  American  company,  —  but  without 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     315 

success.  Madame  Delna,  whose  family  name  is 
Ledan,  made  her  debut  at  the  Opera  Comique  as 
Dido  in  Berlioz's  "  Les  Troyens,"  June  9, 1892. 
She  was  a  servant  at  a  little  inn  or  restau- 
rant at  Meudon,  which  is  said  to  have  been  kept 
by  her  grandparents,  who  brought  her  up,  for 
she  was  left  an  orphan  at  a  very  early  age. 
Certain  musicians,  among  whom  were  Alex- 
ander Guilmant,  the  organist,  and  his  wife,  and 
Rosina  Laborde,  the  singing  teacher,  used  to 
frequent  this  restaurant  and  took  an  interest  in 
the  child.  Madame  Laborde,  after  hearing  her 
sing,  undertook  to  prepare  her  for  the  stage, 
and  she  was  considered  ready  by  the  time  she 
was  sixteen,  though  the  preparation  which  she 
received  would,  in  these  days,  be  regarded  as 
insufficient.  At  the  Opera  Comique  she  sang 
parts  that  were  suited  to  her  native  and  simply 
direct  talent.  She  was  excellent  as  Dame 
Quickly,  and  in  peasant  parts.  She  appeared 
in  "  Werther,"  "  L'Attaque  du  Moulin,"  "  La 
Vivandiere, ' '  "  Paul  et  Virginia  "  (as  Meala), 
and  Jeanne  in  "  La  Jacquerie,"  and  she  sang 
the  parts  of  Orpheus  and  Zerlina.  In  1898  she 
went  to  the  Grand  Opera-House  where  she 
sang  in  "  Le  Prophete,"  "  Samson  et  Dalila," 
"  La  Favorita,"  etc.,  but  the  critics  found 


316  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

fault  with  her  as  one  unacquainted  with  the 
traditions  of  the  house,  without  the  grand 
style,  without  finesse.  They  also  criticized  her 
vocal  art. 

She  then  returned  to  the  Opera  Comique 
where  she  appeared  as  Orpheus  and  Carmen, 
and  as  the  Wicked  Fairy  in  "  Haensel  et  Gre- 
tel,"  and  Marianne  in  Bruneau's  "  L'Ou- 
ragan. ' ' 

She  was  three  years  at  the  Grand  Opera 
after  having  sung  for  seven  years  at  the  Opera 
Comique. 

She  fell  in  love  with,  and  married,  a  Belgian 
named  Adolph  Heinrich  E.  Prier  de  Saone, 
and  retired  from  the  stage.  Five  years  later 
she  went  back  into  opera.  She  was  engaged 
for  the  Metropolitan  Company  in  1910,  though 
all  previous  attempts  to  induce  her  to  leave 
Paris  had  failed.  The  persuasions  of  Caruso 
added  to  those  of  Dippel  prevailed. 

At  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  she  ap- 
peared but  twice  in  "  Orfeo  "  and  six  times  in 
"  L'Attaque  du  Moulin,"  and  on  leaving  this 
country  she  complained  that  she  had  been  held 
in  the  background  and  had  not  been  allowed 
the  number  of  appearances  for  which  her  con- 
tract called.  One  of  her  appearances  was  at  a 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     317 

Sunday  evening  concert,  but  of  her  perform- 
ance of  Orpheus  there  are  accounts  which  show 
her  to  be  an  artist  of  distinction.  Indeed  she 
was  at  one  time  considered  the  best  contralto 
on  the  French  operatic  stage. 

Mr.  Aldrich,  the  critic  of  the  New  York 
Times,  wrote:  "  It  was  the  disclosure  of  a 
noble  and  beautiful  voice  of  rich  color  and 
dramatic  expressiveness,  perhaps  not  perfectly 
equalized  in  all  its  extent,  but  used  with  tech- 
nical skill  and  artistic  sense.  Madame  Delna 
showed  a  fine  understanding  of  the  dramatic 
essence  of  the  part  of  Orpheus.  She  enacted 
it  with  plastic  beauty  and  grace  of  pose  and 
action,  with  abundance  of  innate  and  reserve 
power.  It  was  the  performance  of  an  artist  of 
no  ordinary  power,  and  one  that  raises  high 
expectations  of  what  she  will  contribute  to  the 
rest  of  the  season  at  the  Metropolitan." 

Mr.  Krehbiel  wrote,  of  this  presentation  of 
Orpheus:  "  Delna 's  beautifully  poised  head, 
her  mobile  face,  her  noble  voice,  her  eloquent 
poses  and  movements,  her  nobly  conceived  and 
superbly  preserved  ideal  of  the  character  made 
up  a  representation  which  stirred  the  audience 
to  its  inmost  depths." 

Leo  Slezak  came  to  America  with  a  reputa- 


318  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tion  which  was  said  to  rival  that  of  Caruso. 
He  was  born  in  Austria  in  1874,  at  Schonberg. 
He  showed  musical  ability  early  and  by  the 
time  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age  was  al- 
ready well  known  as  an  opera  singer  through- 
out Austria  and  Germany. 

Slezak  made  his  first  conspicuous  success 
when  he  sang  at  Berlin  as  a  guest,  in  Lohen- 
grin, the  result  of  the  performance  being  a 
contract  for  several  years  at  the  Eoyal  Opera. 
In  1900  he  appeared  at  Covent  Garden,  and  the 
following  year  at  Vienna. 

In  1908  he  suddenly  left  Vienna  and  went  to 
Paris.  He  refused  all  engagements  and  worked 
hard  with  Jean  de  Reszke,  almost  entirely 
changing  his  method  of  voice  production, 
making  a  remarkable  improvement  in  his 
voice. 

Slezak  has  a  very  powerful  voice  of  beautiful 
quality.  He  is  an  excellent  actor  and  an  adept 
in  the  art  of  costuming  and  make-up.  He  is 
six  feet,  three  inches  in  height,  and  broad 
shouldered,  also  he  is  affable  and  courteous. 
His  greatest  role  is  that  of  Otello,  in  which  he 
is  considered  superior  to  any  singer  since 
Tamagno.  He  made  his  New  York  debut  on 
November  18,  1909,  and  was  successful,  —  he 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     319 

impressed  the  audience.  Later  he  appeared  in 
song  recitals,  and  revealed  an  art  which  few 
believed  him  to  possess,  for  the  part  of  the 
heroic  tenor  in  opera  does  not  lead  one  to  ex- 
pect the  very  true  and  fine  sense  of  vocal  style, 
in  a  long  and  varied  programme,  such  as  Mr. 
Slezak  displayed. 

The  following  paragraph  is  an  extract  from 
an  account  of  Slezak 's  impersonation  of  Otello 
in  which  Baklanoff  sang  lago: 

11  The  great  Slezak  crowded  into  insignifi- 
cance every  other  figure  in  the  opera.  Cassio 
became  but  a  name,  a  pin  prick,  a  reason  for 
the  Moor's  emotions.  It  is  jointly  by  the  dis- 
tinction of  Verdi's  and  Shakespeare's  design, 
of  the  necessity  of  his  being,  of  Slezak 's  ac- 
ceptance of  that  necessity,  and  finally  by  dint 
of  his  own  personal  vigor  and  artistry,  that 
Baklanoff  forced  his  lago  into  the  frame  and 
gave  the  figure  its  due  proportions." 

Alexander  Kubitzky,  who  appeared  during 
the  season  of  1909-1910,  is  described  as  a  tail 
firmly  built  and  swarthy  Russian  singer,  accus- 
tomed to  the  stage.  He  revealed  a  voice  that 
had  less  sensuous  beauty  than  penetration  of 
tone,  poignant  to  the  emotions  rather  than  ca- 
ressing to  the  ear,  with  the  unmistakably  nasal 


320  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

quality  common  in  French  and  Russian  theatres 
and  agreeable  to  the  audiences  there,  — a  voice 
that  plainly  sets  expression  above  sweetness. 
The  use  of  the  falsetto  in  the  upper  tones,  and 
of  vibrato  at  moments  of  emotion  and  intensity, 
American  audiences  do  not  like. 

Herman  Jadlowker,  who  first  appeared  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  on  January  22, 
1910,  as  Faust,  was  born  in  Riga  in  1879,  and 
was  intended  by  his  father  for  a  business 
career.  This  was  not  quite  in  accordance  with 
the  views  of  the  youth,  who  accordingly  fled 
from  Russia.  He  was  then  but  fifteen  years  of 
age.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  Vienna,  where 
he  became  a  pupil  of  Gensbacher.  He  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  Italy,  and  eventually  got 
an  engagement  at  Cologne,  when  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  taking  a  small  part  in  an  opera 
of  German  origin  entitled  "  The  Nightwatch 
of  Granada." 

He  sang  for  a  short  time  at  Stettin,  but  first 
attracted  attention  by  his  work  at  Karlsruhe, 
where  the  Emperor  William  heard  him  and  in- 
vited him  to  sing  at  the  Royal  Opera-House  in 
Berlin.  A  contract  for  five  years  ensued. 
This  was  followed  by  a  similar  contract  at 
Vienna,  in  which  city  he  had  studied  under 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     321 

Gaensbacher  at  the  Conservatoire,  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden. 

Jadlowker  made  his  American  debut  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  as  Faust  on  Janu- 
ary 22,  1910.  "  He  is  thoroughly  schooled  in 
the  finer  ways  of  music  drama,"  one  of  the 
critics  wrote,  "  his  well  knit  and  supple  figure, 
and  comeliness  of  face  serve  him  well  in  roman- 
tic parts,  —  his  movements  are  free,  his  ges- 
tures intelligent  and  he  avoids  the  trite  and 
empty  conventionalities  of  operatic  pose.  If  he 
has  not  exactly  personal  distinction,  he  has  in- 
teresting individuality  that  plays  through  an 
evident  sense  of  operatic  character  and  evident 
resource  in  operatic  impersonation.  Mr.  Jad- 
lowker made  his  tones  his  chief  histrionic  and 
characterizing  means.  He  truly  sang,  —  with 
justice  of  intonation,  with  heed  of  melodic  de- 
sign, with  musical  shapeliness  of  phrase,  with 
unforced  and  intelligently  ordered  quality  of 
tone.  His  enunciation  is  clear,  —  he  is  a  sing- 
ing actor." 

In  the  spring  of  1912  Jadlowker  left  the  Met- 
ropolitan Company,  having  been  engaged  by 
the  Royal  Opera  in  Berlin.  His  contract  was 
said  to  be  for  five  years,  and  his  salary  the 
largest  ever  paid  in  Germany  to  a  tenor, — 


322  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  yet  it  was  intimated  that  by  the  terms  of 
his  contract  he  might  be  able  to  return  to  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  1914.  Possibly 
there  may  be  fewer  tenors  then  than  in  the 
season  of  1911-1912. 

Dimitri  Smirnoff  was  a  young  Russian  tenor 
who  came  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  in 
1910  and  remained  for  two  seasons.  Mr.  Smir- 
noff had  a  very  good  voice  and  an  agreeable 
presence,  but  did  not  seem  to  rouse  any  enthu- 
siasm in  New  York.  In  reviewing  a  perform- 
ance of  ' '  La  Boheme  ' '  the  critic  wrote :  *  *  Mr. 
Smirnoff's  Rodolfo  was  a  poet  of  uneven  vocal 
merit  who  had  but  few  moments  of  real  lyric 
beauty.  During  the  opening  act  it  seemed  as 
though  the  mythical  cold  of  the  cheerless  garret 
had  really  affected  the  singer's  sensitive  larynx, 
since  his  attack  was  lamentably  uncertain. 
Later  on,  however,  this  adjusted  itself  and  Mr. 
Smirnoff  sang  to  better  advantage." 

When  he  left  America  in  February,  1912,  he 
declared  that  he  had  cancelled  his  contract  be- 
cause the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Italians.  Inasmuch  as  Italian 
singers  had  declared  against  the  French,  and 
the  Germans  were  aggrieved  at  both,  —  if  they 
were  not  successful,  —  Smirnoff's  accusation 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     323 

points  rather  to  an  impartial  administration. 
But,  in  any  case,  the  power  behind  the  throne 
has  no  nationality  but  American,  and  the 
singers  must  be  satisfactory  to  the  board  of 
directors  and  to  the  audiences  in  order  to  main- 
tain their  positions.  Smirnoff,  though  pos- 
sessed of  some  excellent  qualities,  did  not  touch 
the  right  spot  and  aroused  little  interest. 

Glenn  Hall  is  one  of  those  singers  who, 
having  made  a  national  reputation  as  a  concert 
and  oratorio  singer,  went  into  opera.  He  was 
educated  at  Chicago  University  and  soon  after 
being  graduated  he  made  his  appearance  as  an 
oratorio  singer,  taking  part  in  "  Elijah  "  in 
Chicago.  His  success  was  unusual  and  he 
toured  with  the  Thomas  Orchestra  and  with  the 
Boston  Festival  Orchestra,  after  which  he  went 
abroad  and  appeared  with  the  Gewandhaus 
Orchestra  in  Leipzig  under  Arthur  Nickisch, 
He  joined  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company  in 
1909. 

Clarence  Whitehill  is  a  native  of  Marengo, 
Iowa.  He  went  to  Paris  to  study  with  Sbriglia 
and  Giraudet,  and  was  engaged  first  of  all  to 
sing  Friere  Laurent  at  the  Theatre  de  la  Mon- 
naie  in  Brussels.  Thence  he  went  to  the  Opera 
Comique  in  Paris,  where,  as  M.  Clarence,  ho 


324  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

sang  Nitakantha  in  "  Lakme,"  the  first  Ameri- 
can of  his  sex  to  sing  at  the  Opera  Comique. 

Henry  Savage  heard  him  and  engaged  him 
for  the  English  Company  which  he  was  then 
managing  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House, 
and  even  paid  a  forfeit  to  the  management  of 
the  opera  at  Marseilles,  at  which  place  White- 
hill  had  recently  signed  a  contract.  At  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  he  carried  off  high 
honors.  His  voice,  however,  was  too  high  for 
the  heavy  bass  roles,  and  he  returned  to  Europe 
for  further  study,  and  being  determined  to 
sing  in  Germany  he  went  to  Frankfort  and 
studied  under  Julius  Stockhausen.  An  engage- 
ment at  Cologne  soon  followed,  and  the  next 
season  he  joined  the  forces  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House  under  Casazza. 

Andreas  de  Segurola  was  born  in  Barcelona. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  but  three  years 
of  age  and  his  mother  when  he  was  six,  so  he 
was  brought  up  by  his  two  uncles,  one  a  canon 
in  the  church,  the  other  a  diplomat,  and  by 
them  he  was  intended  for  the  diplomatic 
service. 

He  was,  however,  very  anxious  for  a  musical 
career,  and  offended  his  uncles  by  his  desires, 
for  there  had  been  no  musical  artists  in  the 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     325 

family,  and  such  a  career  was  considered  be- 
neath the  family  dignity. 

De  Segurola  accordingly  studied  law  in  Bar- 
celona, but  in  the  hotel  at  which  he  was  staying 
there  was  a  famous  singer,  Hariclee  Darclee, 
then  at  the  height  of  her  career,  and  a  member 
of  the  Liceo  Theatre.  He  sang  for  her,  and  she 
gave  him  much  encouragement,  even  asking 
him  to  sing  at  her  benefit  concert  with  her. 
After  this  performance  the  manager  of  the 
theatre  asked  him  to  join  the  company,  which 
he  did  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  francs  a 
month.  His  debut  was  successful  and  the  fol- 
lowing summer  he  went  to  South  America  un- 
der Cleofonte  Campanini.  He  sang  three  sea- 
sons at  Madrid  and  Lisbon,  and  filled  engage- 
ments in  Eome,  Palermo,  Naples,  Parma,  and 
in  Argentine,  and  was  for  two  years  a  member 
of  the  San  Carlo  Company  under  Henry  Bus- 
sell. 

Mr.  De  Segurola  joined  the  Metropolitan 
Company  in  1909,  and  proved  to  be  a  valuable 
member  of  the  organization.  At  the  end  of  the 
season  of  1911-1912  he  was  engaged  by  the  M. 
Sigaldi  Company  for  a  season  in  Mexico,  but 
during  the  summer  he  was  the  leading  bass  of 
the  Paris  season  of  the  Metropolitan  Company, 


326  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

—  for  a  Paris  season  has  been  carried  on,  since 
Oscar  Hammerstein  showed  the  way. 

The  season  of  1910-1911  presented  new  fea- 
'tures  in  certain  respects.  For  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
twenty-two  weeks  of  opera  were  given.  There 
were  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  performances, 
in  which  thirty  operas  were  heard,  and  twelve 
composers  represented.  There  were  eighty-six 
performances  of  twelve  Italian  operas,  fifty- 
five  performances  of  twelve  German  operas, 
and  eleven  performances  of  three  French 
operas. 

In  addition  to  this  the  Philadelphia-Chicago 
Opera  Company  appeared  on  thirteen  consecu- 
tive Tuesday  evenings.  The  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany did  less  travelling  than  usual,  only  two 
weeks,  —  during  which  they  visited  Montreal, 
Cleveland,  Cincinnati  and  Atlanta. 

The  season  was  more  remarkable  for  new 
operas  than  for  new  singers,  and,  probably  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  audiences  had  by  this  time 
been  stirred  up  to  an  interest  in  new  things,  we 
began  to  have  "  first  performance  on  any 
stage  "  announced.  This  was  the  case  with 
Englebert  Humperdinck's  "  Konigskinder, " 
which  took  place  on  December  28,  and  achieved 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     327 

real  success.  It  was  performed  eleven  times 
during  that  season,  exceeding  by  two  perform- 
ances "  The  Girl  of  the  Golden  West  "  which 
was  the  next  in  order  of  popularity.  The  in- 
terest in  this  opera  was  enhanced  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  composer.  The  leading  roles  were 
taken  by  Geraldine  Farrar,  as  The  Goose  Girl, 
Herman  Jadlowker,  Otto  Goritz,AbramoDidur, 
Albert  Reiss,  and  Marie  Mattfield. 

Another  novelty  was  an  opera  by  Paul 
Dukas,  a  Frenchman,  — ' '  Ariana  et  Barbe- 
Bleue,"  on  February  3,  in  which  Miss  Farrar 
also  carried  off  chief  honors. 

Of  the  new  singers  there  were  few  who  made 
more  than  a  moderate  success,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Leon  Rothier,  a  French  basso,  Basil 
Ruysdael,  an  American  basso,  and  William 
Hinshaw,  an  American  baritone. 

Dimitri  Smirnoff,  the  Russian  tenor,  was  re- 
ceived favorably,  but  his  voice  was  not  suited 
to  the  large  auditorium  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House,  and  he  returned  to  his  native 
land,  uttering  somewhat  ungracious  remarks 
about  America. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  year,  however,  was 
the  establishment  of  what  has  been  called  an 
operatic  trust.  There  were  three  large  com- 


328  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

panies  formed,  the  Metropolitan,  the  Chicago- 
Philadelphia,  and  the  Boston  Opera  Company. 
Each  of  the  companies  made  contracts  with 
some  of  the  great  singers,  and  these  great 
singers  were  exchanged  more  or  less.  For  in- 
stance, Miss  Garden  was  a  member  of  the 
Philadelphia-Chicago  Company,  which  took 
over  many  of  Hammerstein 's  singers,  and  she 
appeared  in  Boston  and  in  New  York.  Miss 
Fremstadt  (who  won  new  laurels  during  that 
season  by  her  impersonation  of  Isolde)  was  a 
member  of  the  Metropolitan  Company,  but  ap- 
peared in  all  four  houses.  Baklanoff  and  Con- 
stantineau  of  the  Boston  Company  were  ex- 
changed in  a  similar  manner,  and  there  was 
frequent  new  interest  in  the  repetitions  of 
operas  by  the  presentation  of  new  principals. 
This  plan  works  very  well  at  the  present  stage 
of  the  operatic  enterprise  of  this  country. 

Madame  Charles  Cahier  was  formerly  Sarah 
Layton  Walker,  of  Indianapolis.  She  began 
her  career  in  America  as  a  church  and  oratorio 
singer,  and  then  went  to  Paris  to  complete  her 
studies  with  Jean  de  Reszke.  She  made  a  most 
successful  debut  at  Nice  as  Orpheus,  in  1904, 
in  consequence  of  which  she  had  several  flat- 
tering offers  from  various  European  opera- 


MADAME   CHARLES   CAHIER 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     329 

houses.  On  the  advice  of  de  Reszke  she  refused 
all  of  them  and  went  to  Germany  to  perfect 
herself  in  the  Wagner  repertory.  When  she 
made  her  German  debut  it  was  as  Amneris  in 
"  Aida  "  at  Brunswick,  and  after  filling  vari- 
ous short  engagements  in  Berlin  and  other 
cities  she  finally  accepted  an  offer  from  Gustav 
Mahler  to  go  to  the  Vienna  opera. 

Madame  Cahier  was  also  selected  by  Mahler 
to  be  soloist  in  several  of  the  musical  festivals 
which  he  conducted,  and  in  this  capacity  sang 
at  Munich,  Vienna,  Gratz,  Mannheim,  and  other 
continental  cities.  She  has  appeared  too  at 
festivals  in  London  and  Paris. 

In  New  York  she  made  only  two  appearances 
in  opera,  at  the  end  of  the  season  (1911-1912), 
as  Azucena  in  "  II  Trovatore,"  and  as  Amneris 
in  "  Aida,"  and  she  sang  at  one  of  the  Metro- 
politan Sunday  evening  concerts.  She  showed 
herself  to  be  a  singer  of  admirable  qualities, 
whose  vocal  resources  are  of  the  best,  and 
whose  style  is  finished  and  broad.  Her  acting 
was  vivid  and  emotional. 

Lucie  Weidt  is  a  native  of  Vienna.  Her 
voice  was  discovered  when,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, she  sang  an  aria  from  '  *  Aida  "  at  a  musi- 
cale  given  at  her  father's  house.  She  made 


330  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

such  an  impression  on  her  audience  that  she 
was  advised  to  make  a  serious  study  of  singing. 
She  went  to  Jean  de  Reszke  and  made  her  debut 
when  only  nineteen  at  the  Imperial  Opera  in 
Vienna,  as  Elizabeth  in  "  Tannhauser. "  After 
three  years  she  was  appointed  court  singer. 
In  private  life  Miss  Weidt  is  the  Baroness 
von  Urmenyi. 

Inga  Oerner  is  a  Norwegian  soprano  who 
joined  the  Metropolitan  forces  in  1911.  Her 
musical  career  extends  over  some  six  or  seven 
years.  Her  father  was  a  friend  of  Edouard 
Grieg,  and  she  studied  music  under  the  noted 
Norwegian  composer.  She  mastered  some 
forty  operatic  roles,  and  was  a  favorite  singer 
at  the  concerts  held  in  the  Royal  Castle,  Chris- 
tiania.  In  the  summer  of  1911  Miss  Oerner  sang 
at  Covent  Garden.  She  had  also  had  an  oper- 
atic career  in  her  native  land. 

The  most  important  acquisition  to  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera  Company  in  the  season  of  1911- 
1912  was  Margarete  Matzenaur,  who  made  her 
debut  as  Amneris  in  "  Aida  "  in  November. 

Madame  Matzenaur  is  of  Hungarian  birth, 
her  father  was  an  orchestral  conductor  and  her 
mother  an  opera  singer,  so  she  received  an  ex- 
cellent musical  education  while  still  a  child. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     331 

She  plays  the  piano  well  and  has  never  had  a 
repetiteur  in  studying  her  parts.  When  she 
was  young  she  thought  that  she  would  be  an 
actress,  but  her  voice  developed  and  made  sing- 
ing more  essential.  Her  debut  was  made  at 
Strassburg,  as  Puck  in  "  Oberon,"  after  which 
she  remained  in  that  theatre  for  three  years 
and  sang  many  other  contralto  roles.  After 
that  engagement  she  went  to  the  Hofoper  in 
Munich  and  remained  a  member  of  that  house 
until  coming  to  America,  though  she  had  made 
various  "  guest  "  tours.  At  Munich  she  suc- 
ceeded Olive  Fremstadt,  and  she  cherishes  the 
ambition  to  become,  like  Miss  Fremstadt,  a 
dramatic  soprano,  in  fact  Miss  Fremstadt  is 
said  to  have  left  Munich  in  order  to  get  away 
from  contralto  roles. 

Madame  Matzenaur  has  sung  Herodias  in 
"  Salome,"  Klytemnestra  in  "  Elektra,"  and 
has  learned  the  part  of  the  Marschallin,  in 
"  Der  Rosenkavalier." 

At  Bayreuth  Madame  Matzenaur  appeared 
as  Walt  route,  one  of  the  Rhine  Daughters,  and 
as  one  of  the  Norns  in  "  Gotterdammerung, " 
and  she  expected  to  be  engaged  to  sing  Kundry 
in  1912.  But  another  was  selected,  and  Ma- 
dame Matzenaur,  by  singing  the  part  at  the  Met- 


332  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ropolitan  Opera-House  in  an  emergency,  prac- 
tically severed  her  connection  with  Bayreuth. 
The  reason  given  at  Bayreuth  for  not  engag- 
ing her  was  "  lack  of  time  for  rehearsal," 
but  this  excuse  was  proved  absurd  by  the 
fact  that  Madame  Matzenaur,  taking  Miss 
Fremstadt's  place,  sang  the  part  without  an 
orchestral  rehearsal,  and  did  it  with  an 
intelligence  that  proclaimed  her  a  very  great 
artist,  and  what  is  also  quite  remarkable,  she 
pronounced  every  word  so  that  it  was 
distinctly  understood.  Madame  Matzenaur 
is,  in  fact,  distinguished  for  mastery  of 
languages.  She  speaks  English  without  a  trace 
of  continental  accent,  just  as  a  cultivated  Eng- 
lish woman  speaks,  although  she  has  never 
spent  much  time  in  studying  it,  and  has  spent 
only  a  few  weeks  in  England.  She  also  speaks 
Italian  fluently  and  French,  besides  Hungarian. 

At  the  end  of  the  Metropolitan  season  in  1912 
she  went  to  the  Stadt  Theatre  at  Hamburg,  but 
was  engaged  for  a  portion  of  each  of  the  two 
following  seasons  for  America. 

During  her  American  engagement  Madame 
Matzenaur  distinguished  herself  not  only  by 
her  singing  of  Kundry,  but  also  by  her  inter- 
pretation of  the  parts  of  Brunnhilde  in  "  Wai- 


Copyright  by  Mishkiu  Studio,   New  York 

MARGARETE    MATZENAUR 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     333 

kiire,"  as  Orfeo  in  Gluck's  opera,  and  as  Bran- 
gaene,  on  which  occasion  one  of  the  papers  de- 
clared: "  Madame  Matzenaur  made  her  hearers 
realize  that  for  the  first  time  since  the  days  of 
Marianne  Brandt,  the  Metropolitan  had  a 
Brangaene  worthy  of  that  role.  A  tragic  ac- 
tress of  intense  force  and  passion,  Madame 
Matzenaur  possesses  in  addition,  a  voice  so 
rich  and  sonorous,  and  capable  of  such  infinite 
gradations  of  color  and  emotional  depiction 
that  the  combination  forms  an  irresistible  whole 
and  casts  a  magic  spell  over  her  hearers.  She 
is  the  greatest  contralto  heard  in  New  York 
opera  since  Madame  Schumann  -  Heink  left 
Broadway  for  wider  fields  in  concert." 

In  Munich  Madame  Matzenaur  married  Ernst 
Preuse  in  1902.  Preuse  had  been  one  of  her 
teachers,  and  her  divorce  from  him  was  one  of 
the  reasons  why  she  left  Munich  and  came  to 
America.  In  July,  1912,  an  announcement  was 
made  of  her  engagement  to  Signer  Fontana- 
Ferrari,  an  Italian  tenor,  of  La  Scala. 

Heinrich  Hensel,  who  was  a  newcomer  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  1911,  began  his 
operatic  career  in  1907  as  a  lyric  tenor,  but  his 
voice  developed  into  a  dramatic  tenor,  after 
which  he  went  to  the  Court  Theatre  at  Wies- 


334  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

baden  and  became  an  object  of  especial  interest 
to  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 

Hensel  is  the  son  of  a  wealthy  manufacturer, 
and  was  destined  to  enter  the  army  as  an  officer 
after  he  had  finished  his  term  of  service  in  the 
cavalry  at  Carlsruhe.  He  was  educated  at  his 
father's  home  in  Pfalz.  After  singing  in  vari- 
ous amateur  affairs  he  became  seriously  inter- 
ested and  placed  himself  under  the  tuition  of 
Gustav  Walter,  a  former  tenor  of  the  Vienna 
opera.  He  then  took  further  lessons  under  Her- 
man Rosenberg,  and  finally  he  studied  with 
Emmerich  in  Milan.  He  made  his  debut  at 
Freiburg,  Baden,  as  Stradella  in  1897,  and  ob- 
tained a  three  years'  contract  at  that  theatre. 
For  six  years  he  sang  operas  of  the  old  school, 
and  then  entered  by  degrees  into  the  modern 
works,  taking  such  parts  as  Turiddu  in  ' (  Caval- 
leria  Eusticana  ty  and  Canio  in  "II  Pagli- 
acci. ' ' 

After  an  engagement  at  Frankfort  he  went 
to  Wiesbaden  where  he  entered  upon  the  heroic 
repertory,  singing  Siegmun-d  and  Siegfried, 
Lohengrin,  and  Walter  von  Stolzing. 

Hensel  was  chosen  by  Siegfried  Wagner, 
while  singing  at  Carlsruhe,  to  create  the  tenor 
part  in  his  opera  "  Bandietrich, "  and  as  a  re- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     335 

suit  of  that  engagement  he  sang  Parsifal  at 
Bayreuth. 

Mr.  Hensel  made  his  American  debut  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  early  in  1912,  when 
he  appeared  as  Lohengrin.  "  In  appearance 
Mr.  Hensel  is  one  of  the  most  impressive 
Lohengrins  seen  at  the  Metropolitan  in  some 
time,"  says  one  account.  "  He  is  tall,  hand- 
some and  well  built,  and  it  did  not  require  the 
words  of  the  other  personages  in  the  drama  to 
convince  one  that  the  knight  was  a  really  heroic 
individual.  .  .  .  His  acting  pleased,  though  the 
full  extent  of  his  histrionic  ability  remains  to 
be  determined.  .  .  .  Mr.  Hensel 's  voice,  a  pure 
tenor,  is  distinguished  especially  by  its  youth- 
ful freshness  and  purity  of  quality.  Strangely 
enough,  it  impresses  one  as  of  a  lyric  rather 
than  a  truly  dramatic  cast.  ...  He  has  no 
need  to  force  his  tones  for  they  are  resonant 
and  well  produced  and  will  consequently  carry 
to  perfection  when  normally  emitted.  .  .  .  One 
of  the  most  delightful  features  of  Mr.  HensePs 
work  is  the  beautiful  clarity  of  his  enunciation, 
which  makes  every  word  thoroughly  compre- 
hensible even  to  the  most  distant  listener." 

Shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Hensel  made  an  ap- 
pearance as  Siegfried,  as  substitute  for  Carl 


336  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Burrian,  who  was  indisposed.  On  this  occa- 
sion also  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  success. 
The  following  account  appeared  in  one  of  the 
papers : 

"  From  his  first  appearance  to  the  final  note 
of  the  love  scene  between  Siegfried  and  the 
awakened  Brunnhilde  at  the  close  of  the  opera, 
it  might  truthfully  be  said,  and  this,  too,  with 
all  due  respect  to  the  whole  cast,  that  Heinrich 
Hensel  dominated  the  stage  and  quickly  brought 
the  audience  to  realize  that  in  voice  and  ap- 
pearance one  of  the  greatest  Siegfrieds  known 
to  New  York  opera  habitues  was  on  the  boards. 

"  This  was  Mr.  Hensel 's  initial  Siegfried 
appearance  here,  and  let  it  be  recorded  that 
another  triumph  has  been  added  to  his  list  at 
the  Metropolitan  Opera-House.  At  the  close  of 
each  act  the  audience  insisted  upon  bringing  the 
magnificent  artist  before  the  curtain  many  times 
to  bow  acknowledgment  to  the  plaudits. 

"  Every  scene  was  invested  with  its  full  de- 
gree of  significance,  and  not  a  light  or  shade 
was  missed  by  Hensel,  who  seemed  to  be  the 
very  embodiment  of  the  forest  hero.  The  song 
at  the  forge  was  delivered  with  stirring  elo- 
quence; the  encounter  with  Fafner,  as  the 
dragon,  was  a  masterpiece  of  dramatic  delivery 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     337 

and  acting;  the  scene  with  Wotan  in  the  last 
act,  and  the  final  love  episode  with  Brunnhilde 
were  impressive  in  the  extreme.  The  present 
writer  overheard  a  veteran  opera  attendant  re- 
mark enthusiastically  after  Hensel  had  been 
called  before  the  curtain  about  a  dozen  times 
following  the  first  act :  *  The  greatest  and  hand- 
somest Siegfried  since  Alvary. '  " 

Lambert  Murphy,  a  tenor  who  began  his 
operatic  experience  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera- 
House  in  the  season  of  1911-1912,  is  a  native  of 
Springfield,  Mass.  As  a  boy  he  was  a  church 
singer,  and  he  continued  in  that  work  until  he 
secured  his  engagement  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House.  In  1904  he  entered  Harvard 
University,  and  was  at  that  time  a  member  of 
the  quartet  of  the  Park  St.  Congregational 
church  in  Boston.  Each  year  he  was  sought 
by  other  churches  and  eventually  he  sang  in 
the  New  Old  South  church,  from  which  place  he 
went  to  St.  Bartholomew's  in  New  York. 
During  his  college  career  he  was  a  member  of 
all  the  musical  organizations,  and  was  in  de- 
mand for  concert  engagements.  He  coached 
for  oratorio  under  Emil  Mollenhaur. 

Mr.  Murphy  had  no  idea  of  entering  the  musi- 
cal profession  until  the  end  of  his  college  career. 


338  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

He  had  simply  studied  singing  under  Thomas 
L.  Cushman,  a  teacher  of  Springfield  and  Bos- 
ton. 

Mr.  Murphy  has  a  pure  tenor  voice  of  beauti- 
ful quality.  He  has  never  had  to  seek  profes- 
sional engagements,  —  they  have  been  urged 
upon  him.  He  was  asked  by  Biccardo  Martin, 
who  met  him  at  a  mutual  friend 's  house,  to  sing 
for  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza,  and  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company  without  any  preliminary 
operatic  experience,  and  without  leaving  the 
United  States  for  study  or  training  of  any  kind. 
He  takes  small  parts  in  the  opera  and  has,  so 
far,  been  warmly  commended  for  his  work. 

Herman  Weil,  who  also  came  to  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House  in  1911,  is  a  young  man  in 
his  early  prime.  He  is  said  to  have  been  dis- 
covered by  Siegfried  Wagner,  who  first  heard 
him  as  Hans  Sachs  at  the  Royal  Opera-House 
in  Stuttgart  in  1910.  Weil's  whole  life  has  been 
passed  in  Stuttgart,  where  he  had  been  a  stu- 
dent at  the  Conservatory.  His  striking  quali- 
ties as  an  artist  are  the  power  of  his  delivery 
and  the  rich  amplitude  of  his  voice.  During  his 
student  days  Weil  fell  in  love  with  a  fellow 
student  and  married  her  shortly  after  making 
his  debut. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     339 

Putnam  Griswold  was  born  in  Minneapolis, 
spent  the  early  part  of  his  life  in  California, 
and,  aided  by  some  Californian  friends,  went 
abroad  to  study  singing.  His  first  engagement 
was  at  the  Municipal  Opera  at  Frankfurt-on- 
the-Main.  Six  months  later  he  began  a  tour  in 
America  singing  the  part  of  Gurnemanz  in 
Henry  M.  Savage's  production  of  "  Parsifal." 
During  this  tour  he  sang  that  role  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  times,  and  his  success  was  so  great 
that  he  secured  a  contract  at  the  Berlin  Royal 
Opera  as  principal  basso,  for  six  years. 

At  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  Mr.  Gris- 
wold has  distinguished  himself  in  Wagnerian 
roles.  His  King  Mark  was  called  a  magnificent 
presentation,  physically  and  vocally.  He  made 
every  moment  of  the  usually  tedious  second  act 
finale  resolve  itself  into  real  music  drama. 

As  Wotan  the  following  account  was  given 
of  him : 

"  Putnam  Griswold  was  a  stately  Wotan, 
and  his  glorious  bass  voice  rolled  out  over  the 
big  audience  with  organ-like  resonance.  Not 
only  is  Mr.  Griswold  a  superb  vocalist,  but  he 
also  is  an  actor  of  unusual  capacity  as  well. 
His  mocking  laughter  at  Mime  was  gruesome 
and  thrilling  in  the  extreme.  The  scene  of  the 


340  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

questions  in  the  first  act  was  made  most  dra- 
matically impressive  by  Mr.  Griswold,  as  was 
also  the  scene  at  the  cave  of  the  dragon.  He 
was  superb,  too,  in  the  episodes  between  Erda 
and  Siegfried.  Griswold  is  a  fine  artist  and  a 
rich  prize  for  any  great  opera-house  to  pos- 
sess." 

For  many  years  the  nation  has  been  looking 
for  an  American  Grand  Opera.  Since  the  days 
of  W.  H.  Fry  there  have  been  several  attempts 
to  produce  grand  opera  written  by  Americans, 
both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  Damrosch's 
"  Scarlet  Letter  "  was  an  opera  on  an  Ameri- 
can subject.  Nevin's  "  Poia,"  produced  in 
Germany  some  few  years  ago,  was  an  Indian 
story  and  therefore  more  like  what  the  ideal 
American  opera  should  be.  Louis  A.  Coerne's 
"  Zenobia,"  produced  in  Berlin,  was  American 
in  that  the  composer  was  educated  in  and  a 
resident  of  America.  The  most  successful 
American  opera  is  "  The  Girl  of  the  Golden 
West,"  an  American  story  set  to  music  by  an 
Italian,  and  most  successfully  sung  by  a  polyglot 
company,  which  included  Emmy  Destinn, 
Amato,  etc.  Victor  Herbert's  "  Natoma," 
mentioned  elsewhere,  is  founded  on  an  Indian 
story.  Horatio  Parker  has  sought  out  a  story 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

PUTNAM   GRISWOLD 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     34i 

of  ancient  Britain.  In  all  the  discussions  that 
have  taken  place  regarding  the  expected  Ameri- 
can opera  it  has  not  yet  been  clearly  defined 
what  constitutes  an  American  opera.  Whether 
the  story  must  be  American  in  subject,  written 
by  an  American,  as  well  as  the  music,  or  whether 
it  is  necessary  only  that  the  composer  should 
be  an  American.  In  reviewing  operas  of 
other  nations  we  conclude  that  the  only  es- 
sential is  that  the  composer  should  be  a  native 
American.  We  have,  for  instance,  among 
Italian  operas,  "  Lucia  di  Lammermoor, "  a 
story  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  set  to  music  by  an 
Italian;  we  have  "  Bigoletto,"  a  story  by  a 
Frenchman,  set  to  music  by  an  Italian;  we 
have  "  Madame  Butterfly,"  a  story  by  an 
American  about  the  Japanese,  set  to  music  by 
an  Italian,  and  one  could  continue  indefinitely. 
In  regard  to  an  American  opera  it  remains 
a  fact  that  no  American  composer  has  yet 
reached  the  point  of  writing  an  opera  contain- 
ing the  essential  qualities.  Mr.  Converse  in 
"  The  Pipe  of  Desire  "  and  "  The  Sacrifice  " 
showed  some  excellent  qualities,  but  fell  short 
of  success.  Professor  Paine 's  "  Azara  "  was 
considered  to  be  an  excellent  work,  but  it  was 
never  produced. 


342  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  Prof.  Parker's 
opera  contains  much  that  is  of  great  merit. 
Perhaps  too  much  advance  advertising  did 
more  to  spoil  its  chances  than  anything  else. 
Too  much  advance  advertising  is  accountable 
for  many  failures  in  America.  Public  expecta- 
tion is  raised  too  high,  or  expects  something 
entirely  different  from  that  which  is  presented, 
and  failure  ensues. 

In  regard  to  operas,  we  can  find,  if  we  search 
through  operatic  history,  that  many  of  the  most 
successful  operas  were  unpopular  at  first. 
Some  were  re-written,  or  improved,  others  were 
persistently  pushed,  until  the  people  began  to 
feel  that  they  could  not  do  without  them. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  may  be  well  to 
reproduce  here  a  keen  analysis  of  the  opera 
which  was  published  in  the  Boston  Herald  im- 
mediately after  the  production  of  "  Mona:  ' 

"  The  characters  and  the  posture  of  circum- 
stances, the  interplay  of  emotions  are  evolved 
with  strong  imagination.  Their  development 
is  the  result  of  a  keen  psychological  analysis. 
The  book  is  written  with  a  fine,  often  a  beauti- 
ful, literary  skill.  It  is  the  work  of  a  poet  of 
real  gift  and  imagination,  and  it  is  couched  in 
the  diction  of  true  poetry.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     343 

very  few  operatic  librettos  in  English  have  had 
the  distinction  from  a  literary  point  of  view 
that  this  has. 

"  But  as  an  operatic  libretto  Mr.  Hooker's 
book  has  faults.  It  is  undramatic  and  it  has 
little  fitness  for  development  and  elucidation 
by  music.  To  begin  with,  too  little  happens 
upon  the  stage  for  long  stretches  of  time  to- 
gether. There  is  too  much  discussion  of  a 
political  and  a  religious  nature,  too  much  nar- 
rative of  what  has  happened  and  is  expected 
to  happen  and  too  little  that  actually  does 
happen. 

"  Prof.  Parker's  musical  embodiment  of  this 
operatic  book  is  unquestionably  a  work  of  re- 
markable musicianship.  But  it  is  greatly  to  be 
feared  that  on  the  whole  it  will  be  found  so 
bleak  and  austere  in  its  quality  as  to  meet  with 
little  favor  from  even  the  musical  public.  It 
has  many  elements  of  beauty,  strength  and  orig- 
inality. But  it  suffers  from  the  trouble  that 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  Mr.  Hooker's  book,  that  it 
is  not,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  dramatic 
—  it  is  not  able  to  keep  and  hold  the  listener's 
attention  as  the  interpretation  of  long  and  sus- 
tained action  upon  the  stage. 

"It  is  profoundly  serious  music;    it  makes 


344  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

not  the  slightest  concession  to  popularity. 
With  very  few  exceptions  it  keeps  a  stern  and 
unyielding  mood  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 
There  are  no  lascivious  pleasings  of  the  ear  in 
*  Mona,'  and  this  unbending  severity  is  some- 
thing that  burdens  even  the  most  sympathetic 
listener. 

"  The  impression  of  *  Mona  '  that  will  first 
prevail  is  that  of  a  lack  of  melodic  flow.  Its 
vindication  from  this  charge,  if  vindication 
there  be,  must  be  left  to  time. 

"  There  are  snatches  of  melodic  form  here 
and  there,  but  they  are  fugitive  —  they  are  not 
allowed  to  reach  development.  One  of  the  most 
pleasing  episodes  of  the  opera  is  the  opening 
scene  in  the  second  act,  in  which  Nial  is  seen  at 
the  altar  in  the  forest  dancing  with  his  shadow, 
speculating  on  the  shadowy  nature  of  souls  and 
communing  with  the  birds.  Here  are  melodic 
grace,  insinuating  rhythms,  seductive  har- 
monies and  a  suggestion  of  naivete. ' ' 

An  excellent  review  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  season  of  1911-1912  appeared  in  Musical 
America.  From  it  the  essential  points  are 
taken  and  reproduced,  by  permission : 

"  At  the  opening  of  the  New  York  opera 
season  which  has  just  ended  the  impression  was 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     345 

widespread  and  deep  rooted  that  it  must  prove 
more  or  less  of  an  anti-climax  by  contrast  with 
the  brilliancy  of  the  preceding  one.  This  senti- 
ment was  grounded  mainly  on  the  character  of 
the  new  productions  announced.  There  was 
nothing  which  promised  to  approximate  in  im- 
portance —  that  is,  for  the  average  run  of 
operagoers  —  the  pompous  launching  of  the 
'  Girl  of  the  Golden  West,'  with  Puccini  at 
hand  in  the  flesh  as  an  additional  ornament  to 
the  occasion.  There  was  no  world  premiere  of 
any  other  foreign  work  —  with  or  without  the 
helping  hand  of  its  composer  —  that  would  com- 
pensate for  the  glories  of  the  '  Konigskinder. ' 
Nothing  that  was  promised  with  any  degree  of 
definiteness  appeared  of  a  nature  to  provoke 
undue  excitement,  except,  perhaps,  the  home- 
made *  Mona.' 

"  Thuille's  *  Lobetanz  '  was  brought  out  less 
than  a  week  after  the  first  night  of  the  season, 
thereby  establishing  something  of  a  record  for 
enterprise  and  celerity  of  action. 

"  '  Lobetanz,'  which  Alfred  Hertz  on  his  ar- 
rival from  Europe  last  Fall  declared  to  be  a 
second  *  Konigskinder,'  proved  to  be  nothing 
of  the  kind.  It  had  two  acts  of  mildly  pretty 
music  and  a  third  that  had  originality  and 


346  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

strength  through  its  grotesque  macabre  quality. 
But  the  plot  was  inane  and  though  the  manage- 
ment staged  it  lavishly  and  provided  it  with  an 
unsurpassable  cast  it  never  really  succeeded  in 
arousing  public  interest.  The  second  novelty 
was  Wolf-Ferrari's  '  Le  Donne  Curiose,'  the 
composer  himself  being  present  for  several  per- 
formances. The  opera  aroused  much  more  en- 
thusiasm among  certain  of  the  critics  than 
among  the  public  at  large.  It  was  a  cleverly 
fashioned  score  in  many  ways.  The  leading  de- 
fect of  the  work  was  the  puerile  character  of  its 
humor,  which  was  further  aggravated  by  the 
fact  that  the  piece  was  drawn  out  to  an  uncon- 
scionable length  and  that  whatever  sparkle  may 
have  been  in  the  lines  was  necessarily  lost  to 
those  unfamiliar  with  Italian. 

*'  Leo  Blech's  one  act  *  Versiegelt  '  came  next 
on  the  list.  Its  brevity  made  it  useful  for  double- 
bill  purposes  and  it  had  genuine,  if  not  very 
original,  musical  charm  and  straightforward, 
hearty  comedy  which,  unlike  '  Le  Donne 
Curiose,'  did  not  pall  by  being  spread  out  too 
thin. 

1 '  By  far  the  most  anxiously  awaited  feature 
of  the  season  was  the  $10,000  prize  opera,  Ho- 
ratio Parker's  l  Mona.'  It  must  be  regarded, 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     347 

among  other  things,  as  the  Metropolitan's  reply 
to  the  question  of  opera  in  English  during  the 
year.  One  cannot  accord  '  Mona  '  the  distinc- 
tion of  genuine  success,  though  it  had  certain 
positive  and  negative  merits.  Brian  Hooker's 
libretto  was  a  work  of  exceptional  poetic  beauty 
and  nobility  of  theme  and  style  of  treatment, 
though  frequently  too  slow  of  action  and  too 
subtly  psychologic  for  operatic  purposes. 
Nevertheless  the  lavish  praise  bestowed  on  it 
should  serve  to  point  out  to  American  libret- 
tists of  the  future  the  path  they  must  travel. 
Professor  Parker's  music  had  the  virtues  of 
profound  scholarship  if  not  real  musical  in- 
spiration. Besides  there  were  many  things  in  it 
that  betrayed  the  hand  of  the  novice  at  operatic 
craftsmanship.  It  called  for  commendation  for 
its  manifest  sincerity  and  well-defined  character 
but  for  reproach  on  account  of  the  consistent 
avoidance  of  the  lyrical,  emotional  and  the 
sensuously  beautiful.  In  many  ways  '  Mona  ' 
was  a  profound  object  lesson  to  American  com- 
posers, for  its  defects  showed  them  very  plainly 
some  of  the  salient  elements  that  stand  in  the 
way  of  operatic  success.  But  even  though  the 
chances  for  '  Mona's  '  existence  on  its  own 
merits  are  small,  its  influence  as  an  encourage- 


348  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ment  to  American  opera  will  still  be  looked 
upon  as  considerable. 

"  The  Wagnerian  performances  were  almost 
always  well  patronized  and,  as  has  been  the 
case  for  years,  Wagner  led  all  other  composers 
in  the  number  of  representations  he  received. 
Unfortunately  only  a  single  cycle  of  the  '  Nibe- 
lung's  Ring  '  was  given,  though  the  enormous 
size  of  the  audiences  and  the  high  pitch  of  en- 
thusiasm at  these  were  assuredly  such  as  to 
have  justified  repetitions  of  the  tetralogy.  The 
departure  of  Mr.  Burrian  shortly  after  left  the 
Metropolitan  without  a  Siegfried  and  fore- 
stalled the  possibility  of  another  cycle  or  of  any 
further  separate  performances  of  *  Siegfried,' 
'  Gotterdammerung  '  or  even  '  Tristan  und 
Isolde.'  '  Parsifal,'  of  course,  had  its  three  or 
four  usual  holiday  matinees. 

"  '  Konigskinder, '  the  triumph  of  the  prece- 
ding year,  held  its  own  throughout  this  winter 
and  the  German  repertoire  was  further  en- 
larged (temporarily,  at  least)  by  '  Lobetanz  ' 
and  '  Versiegelt,'  which  have  just  been  men- 
tioned. The  Italian  <  Girl  of  the  Golden  West  ' 
was  still  found  worthy  of  a  good  number  of 
hearings.  For  the  rest  the  Italian  list  of  operas 
remained  very  much  what  it  has  been.  Puccini 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     349 

led  even  Verdi,  and  one  was  amazed  if  two  weeks 
passed  without  a  regular  performance  or  a 
special  matinee  of  '  Boheme,'  which  was  worked 
ceaselessly  throughout  the  season.  Thanks  to 
the  enterprise  of  Messrs.  Gatti-Casazza  and 
Toscanini  Verdi's  *  Otello  '  has  at  last  become 
a  fixture  in  the  repertoire.  The  '  double  bill  ' 
of  '  Cavalleria  '  and  '  Pagliacci,'  which  seems 
as  eternal  as  the  heavens  themselves,  was  pleas- 
antly varied  at  times  when  '  Hansel  und  Gretel  * 
or  '  Versiegelt  '  was  substituted  for  one  or  the 
other  of  its  component  parts.  But  it  drew  best 
when  given  in  its  time-honored  integrity,  pro- 
vided Caruso  were  in  the  cast. 

' '  Three  French  operas  were  given  —  Gou- 
nod's  *  Faust,'  Dukas's  *  Ariane  et  Barbe- 
Bleue  '  and  Massenet's  '  Manon  f  —  the  last 
only  as  a  makeshift,  and  that  at  the  tail  end  of 
the  year.  Gluck's  '  Armide,'  though  written  to 
a  French  text,  is  yet  the  work  of  a  German. 
The  *  Faust  '  performances  were  often  so  slip- 
shod as  to  call  for  reproof.  They  were  fairly 
pitchforked  on  the  stage  and  the  score  en- 
trusted to  a  not  over-efficient  conductor.  Alto- 
gether French  opera  fared  about  as  badly  at 
the  Metropolitan  as  it  had  a  year  earlier. 
There  was  no  French  tenor  at  the  Metropolitan 


350  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  no  first  class  French  soprano,  though  the 
latter  deficiency  was  remedied  by  the  work  of 
Geraldine  Farrar. 

"  For  the  few  *  Rigolettos  '  and  '  Traviatas  ' 
the  management  availed  itself  of  the  brief  visits 
of  Mme.  Tetrazzini  and  Mme.  de  Pasquali.  The 
Ghick  operas,  *  Armide  '  and  '  Orfeo,'  so  ad- 
mirably mounted  and  superbly  sung,  continued 
deservedly  to  enjoy  popular  support  and  sym- 
pathy. Mr.  Toscanini's  noble  zeal  seems  really 
to  have  turned  *  Armide  '  from  failure  to  suc- 
cess. 

11  The  opening  performance  of  the  season 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  New  York  public 
one  of  the  most  consummate  artists  it  has  ever 
been  privileged  to  applaud.  This  was  Mar- 
garete  Matzenaur,  the  German  contralto,  who, 
by  her  superb  voice  and  her  rare  intelligence, 
musicianship,  temperamental  qualities  and  dra- 
matic force,  scored  one  of  the  most  emphatic 
successes  ever  attained  by  a  contralto  at  the 
Metropolitan.  Her  Kundry  in  '  Parsifal,'  her 
Orfeo  and  her  Ortrud  were  impersonations  of 
superlative  excellence.  Though  a  true  contralto, 
Mme.  Matzenaur  aspired  occasionally  to 
soprano  parts  and  even  won  deep  admiration 
by  her  portrayal  of  Brunnhilde  in  '  Walkiire.' 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     351 

Had  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  done  nothing  more  than 
to  import  this  singer  he  would  still  have  de- 
served no  end  of  thanks. 

"  At  the  same  time  as  Mme.  Matzenaur 
came  an  English  mezzo-soprano,  Theodora  Or- 
ridge.  She  failed,  however,  to  create  an  im- 
pression and  returned  to  Europe  after  a  few 
performances.  Early  in  April  came  the  Ameri- 
can contralto,  Mme.  Charles  Cahier  from  Vi- 
enna for  the  sake  of  two  performances.  She 
proved  an  interesting  artist,  one  whom  it  would 
doubtless  be  pleasant  to  hear  in  a  wider  variety 
of  roles.  There  was  the  usual  dearth  of  French 
and  Italian  contraltos. 

"  The  leading  sopranos  were,  as  usual,  Mmes. 
Destinn,  Farrar,  Gadski,  Fremstadt,  Eappold, 
Gluck  and  Alten.  For  the  mezzo  parts  there 
were  the  trusty  standbys  Mattfeld,  Fornia, 
Wickham.  As  was  the  case  with  the  contraltos 
there  was  no  leading  Italian  soprano.  For 
the  latter,  however,  there  was  little  need, 
in  view  of  the  diversity  of  the  talents 
of  Mmes.  Destinn,  Farrar,  Gadski  and  Frem- 
stadt. 

"  Aside  from  Caruso  there  were  no  leading 
Italian  tenors,  the  remainder  of  the  tenor  con- 
tingent including  Messrs.  Martin,  Jadlowker, 


352  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Jorn,  Slezak,  Burrian  and  Hensel.  The  last 
was  a  newcomer.  He  sang  infrequently,  the 
sum  total  of  his  work  consisting  of  one  or  two 
'  Lohengrin  '  performances,  appearances  as 
Siegmund  and  Siegfried  and  a  few  Sunday 
night  concerts.  The  impression  he  produced 
was  not  of  the  indelible  kind.  Mr.  Jadlowker 
was  found  to  have  improved  immensely  since 
his  earlier  appearances  here,  but  by  a  previous 
contract  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  Berlin 
Opera,  just  as  his  popularity  here  was  in 
marked  ascendency.  European  contracts  also 
took  Carl  Burrian  away  from  the  Metropolitan 
in  February,  thus  leaving  that  institution  with- 
out that  very  necessary  adjunct,  a  German 
heroic  tenor.  The  attempt  to  remedy  the  de- 
ficiency by  impressing  the  eminently  lyric- 
voiced  Carl  Jorn  into  the  ranks  of  Siegmunds 
and  Parsifals  did  not  bring  about  the  most  sat- 
isfying results. 

' '  The  baritone  wing  of  the  company  was  ma- 
terially strengthened  by  the  American,  Putnam 
Griswold,  brought  home  from  the  Berlin  Eoyal 
Opera.  From  every  standpoint  this  artist 
showed  himself  to  be  of  the  highest  rank.  Mr. 
Weil  was  a  pleasing  singer  and  fairly  good 
actor,  but  he  lacked  the  breadth,  authority  and 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     353 

artistic  stature  for  some  of  the  great  roles  he 
was  called  upon  to  assume.  Neither  his  Wotan 
nor  his  Sachs  was  particularly  convincing.  His 
best  work  was  done  as  Telramund  and  as  the 
Burgomaster  in  '  Versiegelt.'  Mr.  Amato 
maintained  the  hold  he  has  always  exercised  on 
his  audiences.  His  is  a  magnificent  voice  and 
he  is  a  true  artist.  Mr.  Gilly  enjoyed  greater 
opportunities  than  in  the  past  and  incidentally 
showed  himself  more  than  worthy  of  them, 
while  Mr.  Goritz  and  naturally  also  Mr.  Reiss, 
the  little  tenor,  continued  to  be  the  greatest 
funmakers  in  the  company. 

' '  The  choral  forces  were  again  of  preeminent 
excellence  and  the  difficult  ensembles  in  '  Lohen- 
grin,' *  Meistersinger,'  '  Gotterdammerung  ' 
and  '  Parsifal  '  were  almost  invariably  sung 
with  thrilling  effect.  Scenic  settings  and 
stage  management  in  the  newest  productions 
never  failed  to  awaken  unbounded  admira- 
tion. 

1  *  Taken  on  the  whole,  though,  the  season  has 
been  one  which  may  be  observed  with  a  sense 
of  gratification.  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  has  shown 
the  same  zeal,  sincerity  and  earnestness  as  in 
former  years,  the  same  disposition  to  attain 
artistic  efficiency  as  in  the  past. 


354  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

"  A  review  of  the  operatic  year  in  New  York 
would  not  be  complete  without  a  mention,  at 
least,  of  the  five  weekly  visits  of  the  Chicago 
company,  beginning  on  February  13.  It  is  to 
this  organization  that  New  Yorkers  owe  their 
thanks  for  a  good  part  of  their  French  opera 
this  year.  The  company  brought  with  it  '  Car- 
men,' the  '  Juggler,'  '  Thai's,'  the  new  and 
highly  pleasing  '  Cendrillon  '  of  Massenet,  and 
Wolf-Ferrari's  new  '  Jewels  of  the  Madonna.' 
The  attendance  was  very  large  and  the  artistic 
level  of  these  performances  was  almost  invari- 
ably high. 

11  The  season  provided  a  grand  total  of 
thirty-four  different  operas  and  146  perform- 
ances, of  which  eleven  performances  were 
double-bills.  There  were  three  special  per- 
formances by  the  Eussian  Ballet  and  one  of  the 
Sunday  night  concerts  was  devoted  to  a  worthy 
production  of  Wolf-Ferrari's  beautiful  ora- 
torio, '  La  Vita  Nuova,'  and  another  to  that 
ancient  opera,  Monteverdi's  '  Orfeo,'  given  in 
concert  form. 

11  In  Brooklyn  the  Metropolitan  gave  seven- 
teen operas  (sixteen  performances).  Phila- 
delphia had  nine  visits  from  the  Metropolitan, 
in  which  ten  operas  were  heard." 


The  Metropolitan  Opera-House     355 

At  the  close  of  the  season  of  1911-1912  the 
reviews  generally  praised  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza, 
especially  in  regard  to  his  policy  as  to 
German  opera.  When  he  took  charge  of  the 
opera-house  it  was  assumed  that  being  an 
Italian,  he  would  favor  Italian  opera,  and  that 
German  opera  would  be  slighted.  It  did  not 
take  long  to  convince  even  the  most  skeptical 
that  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  was  a  more  staunch 
supporter  of  German  opera  than  either  Con- 
ried  or  Grau,  both  of  whom  were  native  Ger- 
mans. 

In  New  York  for  many  years  German  opera 
meant  Wagner,  but  under  the  recent  manage- 
ment the  classification  has  been  extended.  Not 
only  have  there  been  most  excellent  perform- 
ances of  Wagner,  but  works  of  other  German 
composers,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  foregoing 
reviews,  have  been  given  a  place  in  the  Metro- 
politan repertoire,  —  and  Gluck  has  been  re- 
vived in  sumptuous  style. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  French  composers 
were  more  or  less  neglected,  but  the  reasons 
for  this  were  not  difficult  to  discover.  Ham- 
merstein  had  done  much  with  French  opera, 
and  Hammerstein's  company  went  chiefly  to 
Chicago.  On  the  whole,  the  past  two  years  ap- 


356  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pear  to  have  given  more  satisfaction  to  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  audiences  than  pre- 
vious seasons,  and,  as  competition  increases  the 
opera  will  improve  everywhere. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  BOSTON  OPERA  -  HOUSE  UNDER  HENRY  RUSSELL 

THE  idea  of  establishing  grand  opera  on  a 
permanent  basis  in  Boston  started  when  the 
San  Carlo  Company,  of  which  Henry  Russell 
was  the  director,  gave  a  season  at  the  Majestic 
Theatre  in  the  spring  of  1906.  It  grew  when, 
during  the  next  season,  no  time  for  rehearsals 
could  be  secured  at  the  theatre,  and  Mr.  Russell 
borrowed  Jordan  Hall  at  the  New  England  Con- 
servatory for  rehearsal  purposes.  The  matter 
of  opera  in  Boston  was  discussed  by  Mr.  Rus- 
sell and  Mr.  Flanders,  manager  of  the  New 
England  Conservatory.  Mr.  Eben  Jordan  be- 
came interested,  has  been  the  mainstay  of 
the  enterprise,  building  the  opera-house,  and 
has  backed  the  operatic  enterprise  until  it  could 
become  self-supporting. 

The  first  season  opened  on  November  the 
eighth,  1908,  with  "  La  Gioconda."  Madame 
Lillian  Nordica,  at  one  time  a  student  at  the 
Conservatory,  sang  the  title  role.  Madame 

367 


358  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Louise  Homer,  also  in  her  early  days  a  student 
at  the  Conservatory,  Madame  Meitschek,  Flo- 
rencio  Constantineau,  George  Baklanoff,  Jose 
Mardones,  A.  Pulcini  and  C.  Stroesco  comple- 
ting the  cast. 

On  the  second  night  "  Aida  "  was  given  with 
Mesdames  Boninsegna,  Claessens,  Bettina  Free- 
man, Lehon,  and  Francis  Archambault. 

The  next  production  was  "  Lakme,"  with 
Lydia  Lipkowska,  Bettina  Freeman,  Evelyn 
Parnell,  Virginia  Pierce,  Mabel  Stanaway,  Paul 
Bourrillon,  Nivette,  and  Stroesco. 

The  fourth  production  was  "  La  Boheme  " 
with  Alice  Neilsen,  Levicka,  Constantineau, 
Tavecchia  and  Huddy. 

During  the  first  season  of  the  Boston  opera 
twenty-one  operas  were  mounted,  —  fifteen 
Italian,  four  French,  and  one  German,  and  the 
season  lasted  fifteen  weeks.  The  company  also 
made  various  excursions  to  other  cities.  At 
the  end  of  the  regular  season  both  the  Metro- 
politan and  the  Manhattan  Companies  appeared 
at  the  same  time  in  Boston,  the  Metropolitan  at 
the  Opera-House,  and  the  Manhattan  at  the 
Boston  Theatre.  The  chief  attraction  of  the 
Manhattan  Company  was  a  performance  of  the 
gruesome  opera  "  Elektra." 


The  Boston  Opera-House          359 

Alice  Nielsen,  whose  name  in  private  life  is 
Mrs.  Nentwig,  has  had,  perhaps,  the  most  varied 
career  that  any  singer  on  the  grand  opera  stage 
to-day  has  experienced.  A  native  of  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  while  still  a  mere  child  her  parents 
moved  to  San  Francisco,  where  her  musical  edu- 
cation began.  Beginning  a  career  in  her  teens, 
singing  at  the  famous  old  Tivoli  (of  many 
memories),  she  joined  the  famous  Bostonians 
as  prima  donna,  and  in  a  very  short  time  she 
was  at  the  head  of  her  own  opera  company,  tour- 
ing this  country.  Going  to  Europe,  she  decided 
to  devote  herself  to  grand  opera,  relinquishing 
the  fame  and  fortune  that  had  come  to  her  in 
the  light  opera  field,  and  beginning  all  over 
again  as  a  student. 

After  study  to  gain  repertoire,  her  operatic 
debut  was  made  in  Italy  with  immediate  suc- 
cess. Engagements  at  all  of  the  important 
opera-houses  of  Europe  followed,  and  in  1904 
she  appeared  at  Covent  Garden,  London,  to- 
gether with  Melba,  Destinn,  Caruso  and  others, 
appearing  in  "  Don  Giovanni,"  the  great  pres- 
entation in  which  Destinn  made  her  London 
debut.  Especially  has  she  won  fame  as  Mimi 
in  "  La  Boheme,"  having  sung  that  role  to  the 
Rodolfo  of  Caruso  many  times.  She  has  been 


360  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

favored  many  times  by  "  Command  "  perform- 
ances at  Buckingham  Palace,  Windsor  and 
other  Royal  residences  during  her  several  sea- 
sons in  opera  in  London. 

When  Miss  Neilsen  first  appeared  in  grand 
opera  in  her  native  land  she  was  prima  donna 
of  the  San  Carlo  Opera  Company,  which  had 
been  organized  by  Henry  Russell,  and  gave  a 
series  of  performances  in  New  Orleans,  visit- 
ing other  cities  also,  later  in  the  season.  This 
was  in  1906.  She  remained  with  the  San  Carlo 
Company  during  its  seasons  until  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Boston  Opera,  with  which  she  sang 
two  seasons.  After  1911  Miss  Neilsen  was  only 
a  visiting  artist  of  the  Boston  Company  but 
sang  with  the  Metropolitan  Company  also.  She 
created  the  leading  role  in  "  The  Sacrifice  ' 
when  it  was  produced. 

Miss  Neilsen  has  particularly  distinguished 
herself  as  a  singer  of  Mozart. 

The  following  article  appeared  in  the  Boston 
Transcript,  under  date  of  February  10,  1912, 
describing  Miss  Neilsen 's  truly  Mozartian  sing- 
ing: 

"  There  is  no  opportunity,  of  *  faking  '  in 
Mozart;  every  carelessness  and  shoddiness 
yells  its  sin  to  the  world  and  requires  equal  pro- 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

ALICE   NEILSEN 


The  Boston  Opera-House  361 

portions  of  voice,  natural  talent,  dramatic  imag- 
ination, every  day  common  sense  and  tireless 
industry.  These,  but  above  all  these,  con- 
science, the  every  day  variety  of  working  con- 
science. 

"  Probably  it  is  this  conscience  that  makes 
Miss  Alice  Neilsen's  singing  of  Mozart  so  thor- 
ough and  so  authoritative.  No  amount  of  orig- 
inal talent  or  artistic  education  could  have  done 
it  alone.  An  aria  like  the  *  Voi  che  sapete,' 
from  '  Figaro,'  demands  too  much  of  every- 
thing a  singer  has  to  be  achieved  by  any  esoteric 
or  mystic  quality.  In  the  clear  light  of  day, 
alike  to  the  intellect  and  to  the  emotions,  her 
singing  stood  the  test.  She  had  what  every 
Mozart  aria  demands;  first  of  all,  pure  voice; 
not  so  much  natural  voice  or  vocal  bigness,  but 
rather  a  high  percentage  of  efficiency  in  the  use 
of  the  voice  one  has.  Then  there  was  a  clear 
realization  of  form,  of  mere  decorative  beauty. 
Next  a  conception  of  this  form  as  organic,  with 
each  part,  down  to  the  smallest  grace-note,  nec- 
essary and  individual.  Along  with  this  an  in- 
stinctive feeling  for  the  drama  and  emotion  of 
it.  And  finally,  after,  and  not  before  these 
other  qualities,  all  that  makes  any  one  of 
Mozart's  arias  distinct  from  every  other  one, 


362  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  all  the  subtlety  and  finesse  and  personal 
charm  which  a  singer  can  give  to  them  —  if  she 
is  rich  enough.  Perhaps  it  is  the  recognition 
of  all  these  things  that  makes  up  the  necessary 
conscience  which  etymologically  means  merely 
'  complete  knowing.'  Miss  Nielsen  certainly 
has  all  of  them.  She  can  make  each  aria  Mozar- 
tian,  individual  and  finally  her  own  personal 
property.  She  has  the  disciplined  taste  that 
can  retard  a  phrase  just  enough  to  emphasize 
it  but  not  so  much  as  to  disturb  its  organic  rela- 
tion. She  has  the  fine  sense  that  can  prepare  an 
ending  so  as  to  make  the  closing  cadence  en- 
chanting in  its  sweetness  and  finality.  The  vocal 
Mozart  is  not  often  heard  in  these  parts,  but 
if  he  ever  takes  hold  it  will  mean  trouble,  or 
more  probably  sincere  joy  for  the  opera-house." 
Lydia  Lipkowska  was  born  on  the  estate  of 
her  father,  in  the  province  of  Poltava,  Southern 
Russia.  After  graduating  from  the  girls'  high 
school  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  she  decided  to 
devote  herself  to  an  artistic  career,  and  entered 
the  Conservatory  at  St.  Petersburg,  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  her  parents.  She  be- 
came the  pupil  of  Eussia  's  most  famous  singing 
teacher,  Madame  Iretzka,  and  in  two  years  she 
made  her  debut  in  the  part  of  Gilda  in  "  Bigo- 


The  Boston  Opera-House  363 

letto,"  at  the  Imperial  Theatre  in  St.  Peters- 
burg. 

Her  success  was  instantaneous,  and  she  was 
a  reigning  favorite  of  the  opera-goers  of  the 
Russian  capital  for  three  years,  and  was  called 
affectionately  by  them,  "  La  Petite."  Then 
she  decided  to  seek  new  honors  in  foreign  lands, 
and  when  she  made  her  debut  in  the  spring  of 
1909  at  the  Paris  Chatelet  and  Opera  Comique, 
the  Parisians,  as  the  Russians  had  previously, 
decided  that  Madame  Lipkowska  possessed  the 
rare  combination  of  an  admirable  coloratura 
voice  and  unusual  histrionic  talent.  It  was  in 
Paris  that  Mr.  Russell  heard  and  engaged  her. 

Madame  Lipkowska  made  her  first  American 
appearance  at  the  Boston  Opera-House  in  No- 
vember, 1909,  and  became  a  great  favorite.  It 
is  even  recorded  that  a  hotel  proprietor 
wounded  her  susceptibilities  by  naming  a  dish 
after  her,  intending  to  do  her  great  honor.  At 
the  end  of  the  season  of  1910-1911  Madame 
Lipkowska  left  the  Boston  Opera  Company  and 
went  to  New  York.  She  has  in  fact,  * '  gone  the 
round  "  of  the  American  Opera-Houses. 

The  following  story  which  was  published  has 
the  merit  of  being  romantic,  even  though  it  may 
not  be  strictly  accurate: 


364  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

* '  Lydia  Lipkowska,  who  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Boston  Opera  Company 
during  its  first  two  seasons,  was  a  Russian  of 
humble  origin.  She  was  a  street  singer  when, 
chanting  a  Russian  folk  song  under  the  window 
of  a  wealthy  and  titled  Russian,  her  voice 
pleased  him  so  much  that  he  sent  a  servant  to 
bring  her  into  the  house.  He  learned  her  story 
and  decided  that  her  talents  should  be  culti- 
vated. This  ended  her  career  in  the  line  of 
street  singing,  and  after  proper  study  she  was 
brought  out  at  the  Imperial  Opera-House  in 
St.  Petersburg  where  she  made  a  distinct  suc- 
cess." 

Lydia  Lipkowska  was  small  and  slight,  and 
in  happy  contrast  to  the  bulk  and  maturity  of 
many  coloratura  singers.  Her  face  and  body 
were  delicately  molded  and  a  little  frail  in  ap- 
pearance. She  had  lightness,  swiftness  and 
grace  of  youth  and  in  all  that  she  did  disclosed 
quick  sensibility,  individual  accent  and  clear 
charm.  She  interested,  she  pleased  in  herself 
as  well  as  by  what  her  singing  and  acting  ac- 
complished. Delicate  in  all  she  is  and  does 
without  a  hint  of  mincing  elegance.  Thus  was 
she  described  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Parker,  who  con- 
tinued: "  Essentially  a  light,  pliant,  delicate 


LYDIA    LIPKOWSKA 


The  Boston  Opera-House          365 

voice  readily  susceptible  to  the  agility  that  the 
ornaments  of  song  in  the  older  Italian  operas 
demand,  Miss  Lipkowska  is  certainly  capable 
of  sustained  and  expressive  song.  The  quality, 
however,  that  particularly  distinguishes  her 
tones  is  the  delicate  and  subtle  variety  of  color 
that  she  gives  them.  Artistry  of  delicate  sha- 
dings,  of  subtle  distinctions,  of  fine  sensibilities 
that  are  in  her.  Her  voice  seemed  less  a  bril- 
liant voice  than  a  tender,  melancholy,  wistful 
voice  attuned  to  sentiment  and  not  to  display. 
Yet  it  has  soft  warmth.  Her  acting  disclosed 
similar  characteristics,  —  light,  clear,  softly 
touched  with  mood  and  trait,  subtle  even  in 
some  of  its  illusions,  —  a  new  and  exotic  per- 
sonality. ' ' 

Miss  Lipkowska  excelled  in  her  interpreta- 
tion of  Lakme,  was  considered  very  good  in 
"  La  Traviata,"  and  dainty  in  "  II  Barbiere," 
but  her  interpretation  of  Manon  was  considered 
mistaken.  She  remained  with  the  Boston  Opera 
Company  for  two  seasons. 

Fely  Dereyne  was  born  in  Marseilles,  France, 
and  prepared  for  her  career  in  her  native  city, 
making  her  debut  there  also  in  Gounod 's  '  *  Mi- 
reille."  She  was  then  engaged  for  the  winter 
season  at  Nice,  and  sang  during  the  following 


366  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

summer  at  Vichy.  At  the  conclusion  of  this 
season  she  appeared  in  most  of  the  principal 
opera-houses  in  France.  During  this  time 
Henry  Russell  heard  her  and  engaged  her  for 
the  San  Carlo  Company,  which  he  was  then 
forming.  She  made  her  first  American  appear- 
ances with  that  company  in  New  Orleans,  and 
sang  in  Boston  in  April,  1907,  as  Musetta  in 
Puccini's  "  La  Boheme. " 

In  the  spring  of  1908  Miss  Dereyne  went  to 
Covent  Garden,  where  she  sang  during  two  sea- 
sons. She  also  made  a  tour  of  Brazil  and  sang 
in  Buenos  Ayres.  Then  she  joined  the  Metro- 
politan Company.  She  has  also  been  a  valuable 
member  of  the  Boston  Opera  Company,  and  of 
the  Montreal  Opera  Company.  In  Montreal  she 
was  selected  to  sing  the  title  role  in  Charpen- 
tier's  "  Louise  "  at  its  first  performance  in  that 
city.  She  has  had  good  success  in  "  Tosca," 
"  Faust,"  "  Mignon,"  "  Manon  "  and  "  Bo- 
heme." 

Bettina  Freeman  was  born  in  Boston  in  1889. 
Her  mother  is  French  and  her  father  an  Ameri- 
can of  German  descent.  She  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  began  to  take  lessons  on 
the  piano  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  her  teacher 
being  Madame  de  Berg  Lofgren,  who  began  to 


FELY    DEREYNE 


The  Boston  Opera-House          367 

teach  her  singing  also  when  she  was  sixteen. 
When  the  Boston  Opera  enterprise  was 
launched  Madame  Lofgren  took  her  young 
pupil  to  the  opera  school,  and  after  some  coach- 
ing with  Minetti  and  Conti,  Miss  Freeman  made 
her  debut  as  Siebel  in  "  Faust,"  and  sang  with 
the  Boston  Opera  Company  for  one  season. 
Seeking  an  opportunity  for  larger  parts  she 
went  to  New  York  where  she  was  engaged  for 
the  Quinlan  Opera  Company,  and  made  a  tour 
through  England  and  Scotland,  singing  leading 
parts,  —  Madame  Butterfly,  Micaela,  Gretel, 
and  she  even  sang  Elisabeth  in  "  Tannhauser," 
a  role  considered  much  too  taxing  for  a  young 
singer.  Her  voice  is  of  mezzo-soprano  quality 
with  an  unusual  range. 

Miss  Freeman  had  a  rather  unusual  experi- 
ence, for  in  1907  being  consumed  with  the  de- 
sire to  study  abroad,  she  went  to  Paris,  took 
three  or  four  lessons,  was  taken  ill,  and  re- 
turned to  Boston  in  time  to  resume  her  lessons, 
in  the  fall,  with  Madame  Lofgren.  She  thus 
made  her  operatic  debut  with  practically  no  Eu- 
ropean study  or  experience. 

Emma  Hoffmann  is  a  native  of  Chicago,  who, 
after  preparatory  work  in  Chicago,  went  abroad 
to  study  for  opera.  She  made  her  debut  at  the 


368  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

San  Carlo  Opera-House  hi  Naples  in  "  Aida," 
and  is  said  to  have  aroused  such  interest  that 
she  was  hailed  as  the  greatest  dramatic  soprano 
of  the  day.  Notwithstanding  this  handicap  she 
appeared  with  success  in  Turin  and  other  cities, 
and  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  creating  the 
soprano  role  in  Goldmark's  new  opera,  "  Win- 
termarchen, "  at  the  Regis  Theatre,  Turin,  on 
which  occasion  Mr.  Goldmark  complimented 
her  highly  and  requested  her  to  learn  the  part 
in  German  in  order  to  sing  it  at  Vienna. 

Although  she  is  said  to  have  received  offers 
from  numerous  European  houses,  she  signed  a 
contract  with  Henry  Eussell  and  was  one  of  the 
Boston  Opera  Company  during  its  first  season. 
She  afterwards  joined  the  Chicago  Company. 

Margaret  Banks,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  went 
to  Italy  in  1907,  and  returned  two  years  later 
an  accepted  prima  donna,  having  a  three  years ' 
contract  with  the  Boston  Opera  Company, 
which  would  permit  her  also  to  sing  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House.  Miss  Banks 's  only 
teacher,  until  she  went  abroad,  was  her  mother. 
In  Italy  she  sang  under  the  name  of  Margherita 
Namara.  She  made  her  debut  in  "  Faust." 
She  was  afterwards  engaged  by  the  Schuberts 
to  appear  in  comic  opera. 


JESKA  SWARTZ 


The  Boston  Opera-House          369 

Another  young  soprano  singer  brought  for- 
ward during  the  first  season  of  the  Boston 
Opera  was  Evelyn  Parnell,  a  pupil  of  Madame 
Meysenheim  of  New  York.  She  was  known  in 
Boston,  her  home  city,  as  a  church  singer. 
After  the  Boston  season  she  went  abroad  and 
has  been  singing  successfully  in  opera  in  Milan, 
Pavia,  Venice,  etc. 

Jeska  Swartz  was  born  in  Albany,  New  York, 
and  her  voice  attracted  attention  when  she  was 
a  mere  child.  Early  in  her  'teens  she  went  to 
Boston  and  studied  at  the  New  England  Con- 
servatory under  Charles  A.  White.  During  her 
under-graduate  course  at  the  Conservatory  she 
was  engaged  as  soloist  with  the  Boston  Festival 
Orchestra  in  a  tour  of  the  Eastern  States.  She 
also  was  contralto  soloist  at  several  churches, 
the  latest  being  the  Piedmont  church  in 
Worcester. 

Miss  Swartz  was  one  of  the  young  singers 
taken  in  to  the  Boston  Opera  Company  at  its 
beginning,  and  has  remained  with  the  company 
ever  since.  In  1911  she  went  to  London  and 
made  her  debut  at  Covent  Garden  where  she 
was  very  favorably  received.  During  the  sea- 
son of  1911-1912  Miss  Swartz  and  Miss  Fisher 
made  a  distinct  success  of  Hansel  and  Gretel. 


370  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Maria  Claessens,  who  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Boston  Company  from  its  beginning,  is  a 
native  of  Brussels,  and  was  educated  at  the 
Conservatory  in  her  native  city.  She  then  went 
to  the  Conservatory  at  Barcelona  in  Spain  and 
made  her  first  appearance  on  the  operatic  stage 
at  the  Liceo  Teatro  in  that  city,  in  Donizetti's 
1  '  La  Favorita. ' '  She  then  toured  the  principal 
cities  of  Portugal  and  Italy,  and  visited  Argen- 
tina, Chili  and  Mexico. 

Madame  Claessens  was  a  member  of  the  San 
Carlo  Company  and  with  it  made  her  first  ap- 
pearance in  Boston  in  1907.  She  is  a  contralto, 
and  a  useful  member  of  the  company.  Though 
not  an  inspiring  singer  she  is  always  adequate. 

Anna  Meitschek,  who  also  was  one  of  the  first 
members  of  the  Boston  Company,  is  a  Russian 
contralto  with  a  voice  so  deep  that  she  has  even 
sung  baritone  airs.  It  is  related  of  her  that 
once,  at  the  fair  at  Nighni  Novgorod,  where  a 
performance  of  Rubinstein's  opera  the 
"  Demon  "  was  to  be  given,  the  baritone  to 
whom  the  title  role  had  been  assigned  was 
taken  ill  and  Madame  Meitschek  sang  the  part 
and  saved  the  performance.  She  is  a  native 
of  St.  Petersburg  and  prepared  for  her  oper- 
atic career  at  the  Imperial  Conservatory.  Be- 


The  Boston  Opera-House          371 

fore  singing  in  opera  she  appeared  in  concert 
in  France.  Madame  Meitschek  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Metropolitan  Company.  Her  inter- 
pretation of  the  Countess  in  "  Pique  Dame,"  is 
one  of  the  foundation  stones  of  her  reputation 
in  Europe.  She  is  a  thorough  artist,  and 
brought  individuality  into  her  representation 
that  makes  her  Countess  quite  unforgettable. 
Her  voice,  as  her  acting,  is  full  of  rich  and  in- 
dividual character. 

Jean  Maubourg,  a  mezzo  soprano,  had  a 
career  of  ten  years  at  the  Theatre  de  la  Mon- 
naie  in  Brussels  before  joining  the  Boston 
Company.  Miss  Maubourg  also  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Metropolitan  Company. 

Elvira  Leveroni  is  a  native  of  Boston,  who 
studied  singing  with  Miss  Emma  Howe,  and 
went  abroad  with  her  in  1903.  She  studied  for 
some  months  in  Italy  and  made  her  debut  at 
one  of  the  small  theatres  in  "  Mignon."  She 
returned  to  her  native  land  for  a  few  months 
and  then  entered  upon  a  further  course  of  study 
in  Italy  under  Sebastiani.  She  got  an  engage- 
ment at  Naples,  at  the  Mercadante  Theatre, 
where  she  appeared  in  '  *  H  Trovatore. ' ' 

When  the  Boston  Opera-House  opened  she 
was  one  of  several  young  American  singers  who 


372  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

were  entrusted  with  small  parts,  and  she  has 
remained  a  member  of  the  company. 

Ella  Kirmes,  a  native  of  Melrose,  was  also  a 
pupil  of  Miss  Howe,  and  went  abroad  with  Miss 
Leveroni.  She  also  was  engaged  for  minor 
parts  at  the  opening  of  the  Boston  Opera- 
House. 

Viola  Davenport,  a  singer  of  Medford,  Mass., 
was  a  member  of  the  company.  She  made  her 
debut  as  Lakme  on  one  of  the  debutante  nights, 
and  gave  great  promise  of  success.  She  showed 
much  dramatic  ability,  and  disclosed  a  voice  of 
clear,  unforced  and  bell-like  quality,  and  indi- 
viduality of  timbre.  She  abandoned  her  oper- 
atic career  at  the  end  of  the  first  season  and 
became  Mrs.  Alva  T.  Fuller. 

When  the  San  Carlo  Opera  Company  first 
visited  Boston,  in  1906,  the  leading  soprano  was 
Alice  Neilson  and  the  leading  tenor  Florencio 
Constantineau.  There  was,  in  fact,  so  much 
more  of  them  than  of  any  one  else  that  people 
spoke  less  of  hearing  the  San  Carlo  Company, 
than  of  hearing  Neilsen  and  Constantineau. 
It  was  largely  due  to  the  excellent  work  of  these 
artists,  supported  by  a  good  company,  that  the 
idea  of  permanent  opera  in  Boston  assumed 
definite  shape,  and  when  the  project  was  formed 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

FLORENCIO   CONSTANTINEAU 


The  Boston  Opera-House          373 

the  principals  filled  their  time  in  other  places 
and  were  ready  as  soon  as  the  opera-house 
opened.  Constantineau  filled  the  intervening 
space  as  a  member  of  the  Manhattan  Company. 
He  remained  three  years  with  the  Boston  Com- 
pany. The  first  year  he  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
work,  and  appeared  many  times.  The  second 
year  he  was  also  very  conspicuous,  but  the  third 
year  he  was  kept  more  in  the  background,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  season  of  1911-1912  he  left  the 
company  and  announced  that  he  was  to  have  an 
opera-house  of  his  own  in  Bragado,  which  is  not 
far  from  Buenos  Ayres.  He  reached  his  height 
in  Boito's  "  Mefistofele  "  as  Faust.  He  is  not 
remarkable  as  an  actor,  but  as  a  singer  he  con- 
stantly challenged  comparison  with  Caruso. 
His  voice  was  of  a  more  lyric  quality  and  his 
singing  smooth  and  graceful. 

Constantineau  is  a  Spaniard,  a  native  of  Bar- 
celona. He  ran  away  -from  home  to  escape 
school,  and  it  was  not  until  he  was  twenty-five 
years  of  age  that  he  realized  the  disadvantages 
of  ignorance  and  began  the  serious  study  of 
letters  and  general  musical  subjects. 

When  he  ran  away  Constantineau  shipped  on 
board  of  a  steamer  bound  for  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  worked  as  a  machinist.  On  board  the  ship 


374  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

he  sang  a  good  deal  and  so  interested  the  pas- 
sengers that  he  secured  an  introduction  to  the 
director  of  the  opera-house  at  Montevideo, 
where  he  had  a  chance  given  him  to  study  the 
tenor  role  in  "  Dolores."  He  also  appeared  in 
' '  Ernani, "  "La  Favorita, "  "  Eigoletto, ' ' 
"  Faust,"  and  other  Italian  operas  which 
are  very  popular  with  South  American  audi- 
ences. 

About  this  time  Tetrazzini  was  singing  for 
fifty  dollars  a  night,  and  Caruso  for  a  small 
sum.  Constantineau  considered  himself  well 
paid  with  a  dollar  and  a  half.  He  carefully 
husbanded  his  wealth  and  then  returned  to 
Italy. 

While  his  South  American  experiences  were 
valuable  Constantineau  considers  that  his  suc- 
cess in  opera  dates  from  his  appearance  in 
"  Manon  "  at  Nice.  He  has  a  repertoire  of 
more  than  forty  operas,  and  he  makes  the 
proud  boast  that  he  has  sung  in  every  country 
in  the  world  and  in  every  city  of  prominence. 
In  Naples  he  appeared,  during  his  early  days, 
with  Caruso,  and  sang  five  times  in  three  days, 
—  at  thirty-five  francs  a  performance.  In  the 
course  of  time  he  was  heard  by  Nickisch  who 
was  then  director  of  the  opera  at  St.  Peters- 


The  Boston  Opera-House          375 

burg,  and  who  engaged  him  for  that  house. 
Here  Constantineau  first  met  and  was  asso- 
ciated with  Tetrazzini.  Later  he  went  to 
Madrid  and  sang  under  the  baton  of  Cleofonte 
Campanini.  At  the  Royal  Opera  in  Berlin  he 
sang  with  Sembrich  and  Eames,  and  at  Covent 
Garden  he  alternated  with  Caruso  and  sang 
with  Melba.  While  singing  at  Nice  he  was 
heard  by  Henry  Russell,  who  secured  his  serv- 
ices for  the  San  Carlo  Company,  with  which  he 
made  a  tour  through  North  America  beginning 
at  New  Orleans  and  extending  through  Chicago 
to  Montreal,  Toronto,  Boston,  etc. 

The  story  of  Constantineau 's  engagement 
for  the  Manhattan  Opera  Company  is  worth 
telling,  if  only  to  show  how  much  advantage 
the  individual  has  over  the  corporation  when  a 
matter  of  quick  decision  comes  to  the  front.  It 
is  related  that  Bonci,  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera-House,  was  taken  ill,  and,  Constantineau 
having  recently  arrived  in  New  York,  the  Met- 
ropolitan people  sent  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
sing  in  Bonci 's  place  for  one  night  for  $1000. 
Constantineau  replied  that  he  would  not  sing 
for  one  night  at  that  price,  but  he  would  accept 
an  engagement  for  the  season  at  $1000  a  night. 
After  a  conference  they  offered  him  four  en- 


376  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

gagements,  and  later  they  offered  six,  to  which 
he  replied  by  stipulating  for  ten.  While  the 
management  were  discussing  the  problem  a 
happy  thought  struck  the  singer.  He  jumped 
into  a  cab  and  drove  to  the  Manhattan  Opera- 
House  where  he  found  Hammerstein  and  asked 
if  there  was  an  engagement  for  him.  After  a 
short  discussion  Hammerstein  made  him  a 
proposition  for  a  five  years'  contract,  which  he 
accepted,  and  a  couple  of  hours  later  the  mes- 
sage came  from  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House 
agreeing  to  the  ten  performances,  but  it  was 
too  late. 

On  his  resignation  from  the  Boston  Opera 
Company  a  dinner  was  given  in  his  honor  and 
much  appreciation  expressed  regarding  his  ar- 
tistic work. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  Constantineau  to  the 
effect  that  one  day  in  Bilbao,  —  his  native  city, 
—  he  was  standing  on  the  street  watching  the 
efforts  of  a  shabby  individual  to  squeeze  out  a 
few  notes  from  a  guitar  so  as  to  procure  some 
money  from  the  people,  for  dinner  and  lodging. 
The  crowd  was  unsympathetic.  Constanti- 
neau's  sympathies  being  aroused  he  took  the 
guitar,  and  stood  by  the  man's  side,  singing. 
Then  he  passed  round  the  hat  and  gathered  up 


Copyright  by  Mishkin  Studio,  New  York 

FLORENCIO   CONSTANTINEAU   AS   CAVARADOSSI  IN   "  TOSCA 


The  Boston  Opera-House  377 

a  substantial  sum,  which  he  handed  with  the 
hat  to  the  unfortunate  musician. 

A  singer  who  made  a  genuine  sensation 
during  the  first  season  of  the  Boston  Opera 
was  George  Baklanoff,  a  Russian  baritone,  who 
while  studying  law  at  the  University  of  St. 
Petersburg,  had  found  that  singing  was  his  true 
vocation.  Immediately  after  securing  his  de- 
gree at  the  university  Baklanoff  was  offered 
an  operatic  engagement  in  one  of  the  smaller 
Russian  cities.  A  month  later  he  was  called  to 
the  Imperial  Opera-House  at  Moscow,  where  he 
made  his  debut  in  "  The  Demon  "  (Rubin- 
stein's opera)  in  1905,  and  since  that  time  re- 
mained inseparable  from  the  successful  pro- 
ductions at  Moscow. 

In  Boston  Baklanoff  made  his  debut  as  Bar- 
naba  in  "  La  Gioconda,"  and  quickly  became 
one  of  the  chief  attractions.  He  gave,  alone, 
a  scene  from  "  The  Miser  Knight,"  a  Russian 
opera,  which  enabled  him  to  show  his  dramatic 
ability.  Unfortunately  Baklanoff  gradually 
became  obsessed  with  the  idea  that  he  was  the 
opera,  and  committed  a  breach  of  discipline 
which  led  to  a  heavy  fine  and  discharge  from  the 
company.  After  some  discussion  Mr.  Bak- 
lanoff apologized  for  the  breach  of  discipline 


378  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  remained  until  the  end  of  the  season. 
Public  opinion  sustained  Mr.  Russell. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  Baklanoff  to 
the  effect  that,  during  a  revolutionary  out- 
break, his  home  in  Eussia  was  raided  by  a 
peasant  mob.  Several  of  them  were  captured 
and  prosecuted,  but  Baklanoff  not  only  refused 
to  appear  against  them  but  took  sides  with 
them  and  appeared  as  their  attorney,  arguing 
that  they  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  mil- 
lennium was  at  hand  and  they  had  a  perfect 
right  to  anything  upon  which  they  could  lay 
their  hands. 

Paul  Bourrillon  is  a  native  of .  Bordeaux, 
France  (1877),  and  began  life  as  an  amateur 
bicyclist,  when  he  came  in  second  in  a  race  of 
a  hundred  miles.  After  this  he  went  in  for 
training  and  won  championships  and  prizes  in- 
numerable, remaining  unbeaten  for  two  years 
and  a  half. 

He  was  a  friend  of  Renaud,  and,  while  wait- 
ing for  him  one  night  at  his  rooms,  sat  down 
and  sang  the  "  Flower  Song  "  from  "  Car- 
men." Renaud  came  in  and  heard  him,  and 
urged  upon  him  a  stage  career.  Without  giving 
him  time  to  decline  Renaud  pushed  him  into  the 
hall,  got  a  cab  and  took  him  to  Vergnet,  the 


The  Boston  Opera-House          379 

principal  vocal  teacher  at  the  Conservatoire. 
After  a  year  of  study  Bourrillon  made  his  de- 
but in  "  Faust,"  in  1904,  and  after  a  tour  of 
the  provinces  for  a  few  months  was  engaged  by 
Albert  Carre  for  the  Opera  Comique.  He  was 
still  there  when  he  was  heard  by  Henry  Eussell 
who  engaged  him  for  the  Boston  Opera  Com- 
pany. 

Eodolfo  Fornari  was  born  and  educated  in 
Italy,  and  made  his  debut  at  the  Del  Verme 
Theatre  in  Milan.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
members  of  the  Boston  Opera  Company,  and 
has  proved  himself  a  valuable  member,  being 
always  ready  in  an  emergency,  and  an  inde- 
fatigable worker.  His  best  part  is  that  of 
Figaro  in  "II  Barbiere." 

Raymond  Boulogne,  who  came  to  Boston  in 
1909,  is  a  French  singer  with  a  large,  strong, 
and  a  little  rude  and  hard  bass-baritone  voice. 
A  voice  of  resonant  force  and  large  effect 
rather  than  of  finesse  or  elegance.  Native  vital- 
ity rather  than  polished  style  is  conspicuous  in 
it.  He  was  sturdy  and  thickset,  moves  in  a  large 
operatic  stride,  makes  large  operatic  gestures, 
knows  and  follows  the  big  routine.  Power 
forms  and  speeds  his  tones. 

Giovanni  Polese,  who  came  to  Boston  at  the 


380  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

same  time,  has  a  virile  voice  and  sings  in  a 
straightforward  and  manly  fashion.  Not  a 
singer  of  nuances,  but  an  honest  baritone  who 
rejoices  in  fulness  of  tone. 

Carlo  Cartica,  who  appeared  in  December, 
1909,  was  a  conventional  lyric  tenor,  with  an 
experience  of  many  years  in  Italian  opera- 
houses.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  Boston. 

Eamon  Blanchart  was  one  of  the  members 
of  the  San  Carlo  Company  who  joined  the  Bos- 
ton Opera  Company  at  the  beginning.  He  is  an 
excellent  singer,  and  is  remarkable  in  the  fact 
that  he  was  his  own  teacher. 

Blanchart  is  a  native  of  Barcelona  and  has 
had  ten  years'  experience  in  the  opera-houses 
of  Spain  and  Portugal  and  Italy.  He  sang  at 
La  Scala  and  at  the  Imperial  Opera-House  in 
St.  Petersburg.  He  has  received  many  di- 
plomas, titles  and  honors  from  various  roy- 
alties. 

Mr.  Blanchart  sings  the  baritone  roles  in 
most  of  the  standard  operas,  and  is  equally  at 
home  in  French,  Italian,  Spanish  and  English. 

Christian  Hansen,  a  young  Danish  tenor, 
joined  the  Boston  Company  in  1909,  but  did  not 
stay  long.  .  His  career  included  engagements 
at  Wiesbaden,  Vienna,  Dresden,  and  finally  the 


The  Boston  Opera-House          381 

Royal  Opera  at  Berlin.  During  his  Berlin  en- 
gagement he  was  induced  to  go  to  Italy  for 
further  study,  and  it  was  during  this  time  that 
he  came  under  the  notice  of  Henry  Russell  and 
was  secured  for  the  Boston  Company. 

Giuseppe  Gaudenzi,  who  appeared  in  the  fol- 
lowing season,  is  a  native  of  Bologna,  Italy, 
and  a  graduate  of  the  law  school  of  that  city. 
His  voice  was  so  promising  that  he  was  advised 
to  give  up  the  profession  of  law  and  devote  him- 
self to  grand  opera.  This  advice  he  accepted, 
and  during  a  career  of  four  years  previous  to 
his  Boston  engagement,  he  had  sung  in  Russia, 
South  America,  and  Italy.  Gaudenzi  made  his 
debut  in  the  role  of  Mario  Cavaradossi  in 
"  Tosca." 

M.  Nivette  was  a  leading  bass  of  the  Boston 
Opera  Company  in  the  season  of  1909-1910. 
His  voice  was  a  deep,  full,  long-ranging  bass. 
Its  salient  character  was  its  smoothness  and 
richness  which  at  times  recalled  the  like  quality 
in  the  singing  of  Pol  Plangon.  There  was  no 
trace  of  the  occasional  roughness  and  harsh- 
ness of  the  basso  prof  undo,  but  rather  the  large, 
smooth,  sonorous  and  pliant  eloquence  of  the 
basso-cantante.  He  sang  Mozart's  music  with 
the  aptitude  and  practice  in  the  art  of  song 


382  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

that  it  requires,  with  the  sure  and  polished  style 
that  it  exacts,  and  the  large  freedom  that  ac- 
cents the  music  and  character,  and  with  the  dis- 
cerning justice  that  is  one  of  the  traits  of  a 
highly  trained  and  keenly  intelligent  French 
singer. 

A  review  of  the  Boston  Opera  season,  pub- 
lished in  the  Boston  Herald  of  March  26,  1911 
(the  second  season  of  the  Boston  Opera-House), 
shows  that  twenty-six  operas  were  given  and 
one  scene  from  an  opera,  —  ("  Gerzige  Ritter," 
sung  by  Baklanoff) with  a  total  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  performances. 

"  Converse's  '  Sacrifice  '  had  its  first  per- 
formance on  any  stage,  '  L 'Enfant  Prodigue  ' 
and  Laparra's  '  Habanera  '  had  their  initial 
performance  in  America  on  November  16,  and 
December  14,  1910,  respectively,  and  '  La 
Fanciulla  '  its  first  Boston  presentation  on 
January  17,  1911. 

"  Of  the  singers  heard  for  the  first  time  in 
Boston  during  the  season  Carmen  Melis  (who, 
however,  had  previously  sung  at  a  musicale) 
gave  admirable  impersonations  of  Floria, 
Tosca,  and  Minnie  in  '  The  Girl. '  Her  brilliant 
beauty  was  especially  displayed  in  '  Mefisto- 
fele.'  Her  Aida,  Santuzza,  and  Manon  were 


The  Boston  Opera-House          383 

conventional,  her  Nedda  was  unsatisfactory. 
She  is  much  more  effective  in  dramatic  than  in 
lyric  parts. 

"  Carolina  White  made  a  marked  impression 
as  a  singer  and  actress  in  l  The  Girl,'  and 
awakened  a  desire  to  hear  her  in  other  operas. 

"  Korolowicz  proved  to  be  an  interesting 
dramatic  singer,  and  Rabinoff  pleased  by  her 
youth,  her  graceful  appearance,  the  quality  of 
her  voice,  and  even  by  her  inexperience. 

"  Madame  Rappold  and  Madame  Villani  were 
comparatively  ineffective,  but  Emmy  Destinn's 
wonderful  art  and  voice  and  her  intensity  awa- 
kened the  greatest  admiration. 

"  Ruby  Savage  gave  distinction  to  minor 
parts  by  purity  and  brilliance  of  her  voice  and 
by  her  vocal  skill,  while  Bernice  Fisher  was  a 
charming  Micaela  in  *  Carmen,'  and  her  Mag- 
dalena  in  '  The  Sacrifice  '  was  an  agreeable 
feature  of  the  production. 

"  Of  the  contraltos,  Celina  Bonheur  had  a 
rich,  full  voice  and  sang  with  a  certain  style. 
She  was  heard  in  only  one  opera.  Madame 
Czaploinska  was  an  excellent  Lola.  She  made 
her  first  appearance  as  Amneris  in  *  Aida  '  on 
November  19,  1911.  Miss  Roberts  gave  much 
promise,  she  was  heard  to  best  advantage  as 


384  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Mellika.  Miss  Leveroni  was  painstaking,  and 
Miss  Rogers  useful  in  small  parts. 

"  Jeska  Swartz  showed  more  than  ordinary 
talent  as  a  singer  and  actress.  Her  Siebel  was 
attractive  and  her  Suzuki  one  of  the  best  we 
have  seen  and  her  singing  and  graceful  appear- 
ance as  the  musician  in  '  Manon  Lescaut  '  will 
be  remembered. 

"  Madame  Claessens  is  a  singer  of  much 
experience,  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  her 
duties. 

"  Maria  Gay  was  heard  as  Carmen,  Azucena, 
Amneris  and  Santuzza.  A  woman  of  indis- 
putable talent,  richly  endowed  by  nature.  As 
Amneris  she  lacked  stature  and  dignity.  San- 
tuzza is  one  of  her  best  parts.  Her  perform- 
ance of  Carmen,  striking  and  brilliant  as  it  was 
at  first,  suffered  little  by  little  through  extrava- 
gance in  realistic  effects. 

"  The  tenors  who  were  heard  for  the  first 
time  in  Boston  were  Arenson,  Bassi,  Clement, 
Gaudenzi,  Gerardi,  Lasalle,  Dalmores,  Jad- 
lowker,  McCormack,  Riecardo  Martin,  and  Ze- 
natello. 

"  Arenson,  as  Radames,  had  a  voice,  but 
was  not  yet  prepared  for  singing  in  public. 
Gaudenzi,  Gerardi  and  Sciaretti  passed  as 


The  Boston  Opera-House          385 

tenors  in  the  night  and  left  only  a  vague  re- 
membrance. 

"  Bassi  has  a  resonant  metallic  organ  of 
liberal  compass,  but  his  singing  was  labored 
and  unsympathetic,  and  his  acting  without 
charm. 

"  Clement  was  excellent.  Lasalle,  son  of  a 
famous  baritone,  turned  out  to  be  a  tenor  of 
little  experience  and  little  vocal  art. 

11  Slezak  has  little  personal  magnetism,  but 
his  performance  of  Otello  was  impressive. 

11  Dalmores  as  Faust  gave  a  performance  of 
the  very  first  rank.  Jadlowker  was  effective 
except  in  *  La  Traviata.'  It  was  said  of  him 
that  he  was  the  first  Faust  in  the  memory  of 
living  children  who  could  wear  the  doublet,  hose 
and  blond  beard  without  appearing  like  a 
tailor's  dummy. 

11  Riccardo  Martin  was  an  excellent  Pinker- 
ton  and  a  poor  Enzo.  Dinh  Gilly  gave  distinc- 
tion to  the  part  of  Nick  in  *  The  Girl.' 

11  Of  the  baritones  Galeffi  sang  in  Boston  for 
the  first  time  on  November  16,  1910.  At  first 
his  tremolo  and  his  tendency  to  boisterousness 
made  a  bad  impression,  although  the  natural 
power  and  beauty  of  his  voice  was  recognized. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  season  he  sang 


386  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  firmer  control  of  his  tone  and  finer  musical 
taste. 

"  Polese,  formerly  a  member  of  the  Manhat- 
tan Company,  appeared  in  Boston  first  on  Jan- 
uary 2,  1911,  as  lago.  He  took  several  parts 
during  the  season  and  in  most  of  them  was 
more  than  satisfactory.  All  in  all  he  was  a 
most  useful  member  of  the  company. 

1 1  Baklanoff  elaborated  parts  in  which  he  had 
already  won  a  reputation.  In  spite  of  a  breach 
of  discipline  he  remained  deservedly  a  great 
favorite. 

"  Blanchart  created  the  part  of  Simeon  in 
*  L  'Enfant  Prodigue. '  His  enunciation  of  Eng- 
lish and  diction  in  Mr.  Converse's  operas  de- 
serves high  praise  and  was  an  object  lesson  to 
native  singers.  He  is  an  operatic  singer  of 
dramatic  intelligence. 

"  Sibiriakoff  sang  in  *  Mefistofele  '  (Novem- 
ber 7),  also  Mephistopheles  in  Gounod's 
'  Faust  '  and  Don  Basilio.  His  voice  was 
sonorous  but  he  knew  little  of  the  art  of  sing- 
ing and  as  an  actor  was  inefficient.  Fornari 
was  inadequate  in  any  serious  part. 

"  Rothier  of  the  Metropolitan  was  heard  in 
Boston  for  the  first  time  as  Escamillo,  MepMs- 
topheles  (Faust)  and  Nikalantha.  His  success 


The  Boston  Opera-House          387 

as  a  singer  in  l  Faust  '  was  moderate,  though 
he  acted  with  considerable  skill.  In  the  other 
parts  he  made  little  impression. 

1 '  Mr.  White  made  his  first  appearance  as  the 
King  in  *  Aida. '  His  voice  is  good  and  he  ought 
to  be  used  for  more  than  minor  parts. 

"  Mardones  created,  in  the  Boston  Opera- 
House,  the  part  of  Jack  Wallace  in  '  The  Girl. ' 
Mephistofeles  (Boito)  is  his  most  important 
impersonation,  though  his  performance  of  Le 
Vieux  in  *  La  Habanera  '  had  true  distinction. 
Tavecchia  showed  individuality  in  small  parts. ' ' 

During  the  season  of  1911-1912  many  singers 
were  heard  in  Boston  for  the  first  time,  of  these 
some  were  regular  members  of  the  Boston  Com- 
pany, some  were  exchange  singers  from  the 
Metropolitan  and  the  Chicago-Philadelphia 
Companies,  —  and  the  Montreal  Company,  — 
and  some  were  special  guests,  for  extra  per- 
formances, not  included  in  the  regular  season. 

Of  the  new  singers  a  French  soprano,  Zina 
Brozia,  made  her  debut  on  December  6  as  Thais. 
She  also  appeared  as  Marguerite  in  "  Faust," 
and  as  Manon,  but  did  not  long  remain  with  the 
company. 

Madame  Brozia  was  born  in  Aries,  in  the 
south  of  France,  and  made  her  debut  in  Brus- 


388  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

sels  as  Marguerite,  after  which  she  spent  two 
years  in  filling  engagements  throughout  Italy, 
France,  Belgium  and  England.  Henry  Russell 
heard  her  at  the  Grand  Opera  in  Paris  and  se- 
cured her  for  his  company.  She  was  not  a 
success,  though  an  attractive  person  with  a 
pleasing  voice. 

Bernice  Fisher  is  a  native  of  Chicago.  She 
was  born  in  1889  and  after  the  usual  grammar 
and  high  school  education  entered  the  North- 
western School  of  Music  at  Evanston,  taking 
the  full  course  in  voice,  piano  and  theoretical 
branches,  and  being  graduated  at  the  age  of 
eighteen.  The  following  two  years  were  spent 
in  Berlin  where  she  studied  with  George  Fer- 
guson. She  returned  to  Chicago  in  1910  and 
shortly  afterwards  sang  for  Mr.  Russell,  during 
a  visit  of  the  Boston  Company  to  Chicago.  She 
was  at  once  engaged  as  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Company,  and  has  had  more  than  ordinary  suc- 
cess as  Micaela  in  "  Carmen,"  as  Gretel  in 
"  Hansel  and  Gretel,"  in  "  Lakme,"  "  Travi- 
ata,"  and  the  two  new  American  operas,  "  The 
Sacrifice,"  ^nd  "  The  Pipe  of  Desire."  She 
also  received  great  praise  for  her  impersona- 
tion of  the  boy  Yniold  in  the  Boston  perform- 
ances of  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande,"  on  which  oc- 


BERNICE   FISHER 


The  Boston  Opera-House          389 

casion  Philip  Hale  said  of  her:  "  Miss  Fisher 
took  a  part  that  might  easily  be  made  boresome 
or  ridiculous.  She  saved  it  and  made  it  con- 
spicuous," and  H.  T.  Parker,  of  The  Trans- 
cript, said:  "  There  has  been  no  such  human 
Yniold  on  our  stage." 

Miss  Fisher  knew  practically  nothing  of  the 
stage  when  she  became  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Company,  yet  in  her  second  season  she  had 
gained  sufficient  stage  experience  to  take  im- 
portant roles  and  elicit  high  praise  from  the 
dreaded  fraternity  of  critics. 

Jose  Mardones  is  a  native  of  Fonetcha,  Prov- 
ince of  Alba,  in  Spain.  He  began  his  vocal 
studies  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  with  the  organist 
of  the  Cathedral  in  Bribiesca,  a  neighboring 
town,  and  when  nineteen  was  engaged  as  first 
bass  of  the  Cathedral  choir  in  Calancia.  Four 
years  later  he  went  to  Madrid  and  entered  the 
Conservatory  of  Music.  In  two  years  he  se- 
cured an  engagement  with  a  Spanish  opera 
company  and  made  a  tour  of  South  America, 
Spain  and  Portnsral,  returning  to  Madrid  in 
1907.  Here  he  was  invited,  by  the  famous  Vati- 
can composer,  Abbe  Perosi,  to  take  part  in  the 
performance  of  his  new  oratorio  "  Moses  "  at 
the  Teatro  Eeale.  He  made  another  voyage  to 


390  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Buenos  Ayres  where  he  sang  for  a  season,  and 
on  his  return  he  sang  at  the  Sah  Carlo  Theatre, 
Lisbon,  the  Eeggio  Theatre,  Turin,  and  the  Cos- 
tanzi  Theatre,  Rome,  after  which  he  was  in- 
vited to  join  the  Boston  Opera  Company. 

Mr.  Mardones  is  an  accomplished  singer  and 
has  a  large  repertoire  which  he  sings  both  in 
French  and  Italian.  His  chief  success  with  the 
Boston  Company  has  been  in  Boito's  "  Mefisto- 
fele,"  in  which  he  took  the  title  role. 

Sibiriakoff,  a  Russian,  has  impressive,  but 
not  ponderous  or  sluggish  bulk,  and  orders  his 
poses  and  movements  skilfully.  His  voice  is  a 
rich,  smooth,  flexible  bass,  skilfully  directed, 
capable  of  emotional  and  characterizing  sig- 
nificance, and  free  from  clouding  infirmities  and 
errors  of  what  the  singing  teachers  call 
"  method."  His  tones  give  sensuous  pleasure, 
he  knows  how  to  sing.  As  yet  he  has  not  much 
finesse,  and  he  is  no  subtle  penetrator  of  oper- 
atic character  and  operatic  music. 

Elizabeth  Amsden  is  a  native  of  East  Boston, 
but  during  her  school  days  her  family  moved  to 
Providence,  R.  I.,  where  she  finished  her  edu- 
cation at  the  Elmhurst  School  in  1892.  At  this 
time  her  voice  began  to  attract  attention  and 
she  entered  the  International  School  for  singers 


Photograph  by  J.  Williams,  Boston 

JOSE    MARDONES   AS   RAMFIS    IN    "  AIDA " 


The  Boston  Opera-House          391 

in  Boston  where  she  studied  under  William 
Whitney.  She  went  to  Paris  where  she  re- 
mained for  six  years,  and  then  appeared  at 
Covent  Garden  in  London  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Beecham,  in  1910,  after  which  she  had 
engagements  in  Nice  and  Brussels.  She  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Boston  Opera  Company 
in  1911,  and  has  proved  herself  a  singer  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  She  is  tall  and  slender, 
with  a  fine  figure,  has  dramatic  ability  and 
magnetism,  and  is  an  unusually  good  linguist, 
speaking  Italian,  French  and  German,  besides 
having  a  good  knowledge  of  Russian. 

Though  she  had  been  heard  in  one  of  the  Sun- 
day evening  concerts,  her  operatic  debut  in  Bos- 
ton was  made  on  January  20,  when  she  sang 
Aida,  with  Constantineau,  Blanchart  and  Mar- 
dones,  and  on  February  4  she  sang  Minnie  in 
"  The  Girl,"  with  Zenatello  as  Johnson  and 
Polese  as  Jack  Ranee.  In  these  two  perform- 
ances she  was  able  to  display  an  exceptionally 
fine  voice,  and  promise  of  good  things  when  her 
lack  of  experience  is  overcome. 

Evelyn  Scotney,  also  a  new  comer,  has  the 
distinction  of  being  a  protege  of  Madame  Melba. 
Miss  Scotney  is  a  native  of  Australia  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Melbourne. 


392  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

In  due  course  she  went  to  Paris  where  she  be- 
came a  pupil  of  Madame  Marchesi,  and  made 
her  debut  at  Covent  Garden  in  1910,  with  such 
success  that  Mr.  Eussell  sought  her  out  for  his 
company.  Miss  Scotney  has  a  brilliant  lyric 
soprano  voice,  and  has  succeeded  well,  for  a 
young  singer,  in  such,  roles  as  Gilda  in  * '  Rigo- 
letto,"  which  suits  so  well  the  limpid  quality 
and  exceptional  purity  of  her  voice.  She  has 
also  sung  Lucia  and  "  La  Traviata."  She  was 
regarded  as  a  singer  of  exceptional  promise. 

After  the  end  of  the  season  Miss  Scotney 's 
marriage  was  announced  to  Howard  J.  White, 
the  son  of  a  physician  of  Providence,  R.  I.  Mr. 
White  is  a  graduate  of  Brown  University  in 
Providence,  R.  I.,  who,  after  graduation  took 
to  music  as  a  profession  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Boston  Opera  Company,  in  which  he  took 
minor  parts  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner.  He 
has  a  good  bass  voice,  and  is  also  a  good  'cello 
player. 

Esther  Ferrabini  was  a  singer  of  much  expe- 
rience. A  native  of  Italy,  she  has  sung  in  al- 
most every  country  in  Europe  and  has  had  two 
seasons  in  South  America.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  Montreal  Opera  Company  before  com- 
ing to  Boston. 


ELIZABETH   AMSDEN 


The  Boston  Opera-House          393 

Yvonne  de  Treville,  who  came  for  a  few  per- 
formances in  January,  was,  some  ten  years 
previous,  a  leading  soprano  with  Henry  M. 
Savage's  American  Opera  Company.  She  was 
born  in  Galveston,  Texas,  her  father  being 
French  and  her  mother  American.  In  1900, 
tired  with  too  much  singing  she  went  to  Italy 
for  rest.  The  following  year  she  decided  to  try 
her  luck  in  Paris.  After  various  changes  of 
date,  her  debut  actually  took  place  at  the  Opera 
Comique  on  June  20,  1902,  as  Lakme,  and  she 
received  nine  recalls.  Since  that  titoe  she  has 
sung  in  many  places.  Her  longest  stop  in  any 
place  was  in  Brussels  where  she  remained  three 
years  at  the  Monnaie.  Her  appearance  in  Bos- 
ton was  on  January  15,  as  Gilda  in  "  Rigo- 
letto,"  when  she  showed  herself  to  be  an  in- 
teresting singer  of  the  light,  lyric  order,  with  a 
voice  of  sweetness  and  flexibility. 

Florence  de  Courcy,  who  became  a  member  of 
the  Boston  Opera  Company  in  1911  to  sing  con- 
tralto roles,  is  a  native  of  New  Orleans,  but 
spent  most  of  her  life  in  France  and  regards 
Paris  as  her  real  home.  She  became  a  pupil 
of  Jean  de  Reszke,  and  made  her  first  appear- 
ance on  the  stage  as  a  page  in  the  memorable 
production  of  "  Salome  "  in  Paris,  under  the 


394  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

personal  direction  of  Strauss,  at  the  Chatelet 
Theatre.  De  Reszke,  however,  insisted  on  her 
studying  until  she  was  fully  trained  for  the 
stage,  and  she  made  her  debut  in  1911  at  Monte 
Carlo. 

Edward  Lankow  is  a  native  of  Tarrytown, 
New  York,  and  was  born  in  1883.  He  was  the 
adopted  son  and  pupil  of  Madame  Anna  Lan- 
kow, a  noted  singing  teacher  of  New  York,  who 
died  recently.  It  is  related  that  when  the  young 
man  was  considered  ready  to  enter  upon  a  pro- 
fessional career,  the  question  of  a  suitable 
name  was  discussed.  Madame  Lankow  sug- 
gested several,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  please 
her  pupil,  who  finally  suggested  that  he  should 
use  her  name,  as  what  he  knew  about 
singing  was  due  to  her.  He  accordingly 
started  his  professional  career  as  Edward 
Lankow.  He  went  abroad  and  spent  one 
year  in  Dresden  and  two  in  Frankfort,  and 
then  went  to  Vienna  expecting  to  sing  merely 
as  a  guest.  But  he  was  engaged  as  first  bass 
in  the  Imperial  Opera-House,  which  was  con- 
sidered a  remarkable  post  for  so  young  a  man 
whose  operatic  career  had  been  so  brief. 

Mr.  Lankow  quickly  made  a  most  excellent 
impression  on  Boston  audiences.  In  "  Samson 


EVELYN   SCOTNEY 


The  Boston  Opera-House          395 

et  Dalila,"  in  "  Aida  "  as  Ramfis,  in  "  Pel- 
leas  "  as  Arkel,  and  as  King  Mark  in  "  Tris- 
tan, ' '  Mr.  Lankow  showed  a  superb  bass  voice, 
and  by  his  excellent  diction  gave  charm  to  the 
most  weary  monologues  of  the  old  King.  Mr. 
Lankow  also  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  a 
protege  of  Felix  Weingartner,  and  was  one  of 
the  cast  which  gave  the  memorable  performance 
of  "  Tristan  "  in  February,  1912,  with  Madame 
Gadski,  Madame  Homer,  Jacques  Urlus,  and 
Pasquale  Amato.  Lankow  is  a  man  of  striking 
personality,  being  over  six  feet  in  height  with 
muscular,  well-knit  figure. 

Mr.  Lankow  sang  Arkel  in  "  Pelleas  et  Me- 
lisande  "  at  its  first  performance  in  Germany, 
when  it  was  sung  in  German  (and  the  illusion 
which  characterizes  the  opera  was  lost),  and  he 
was  sent  for  by  Mr.  Russell  to  go  to  Paris  and 
sing  for  Mr.  Debussy,  who  said,  after  hearing 
him:  "  It  was  for  just  such  a  voice  as  yours 
that  I  wrote  the  part. ' ' 

Another  basso,  who  joined  the  Boston  Com- 
pany in  1911,  was  Bernardo  Olshansky.  He  is 
a  Russian,  who,  driven  by  political  persecution 
to  seek  the  protection  of  America,  arrived  in 
New  York  about  the  year  1905,  at  the  age  of 
twenty.  He  worked  hard  at  various  trades,  but 


396  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

during  all  his  struggles  he  kept  before  him  his 
desire  and  determination  to  become  a  grand 
opera  singer.  A  few  months  after  landing  in 
New  York  he  began  to  take  lessons  with  Gia- 
como  Ginsburg,  and  worked  with  rare  diligence. 
Three  years  later  his  teacher  pronounced  him 
equipped  for  opera  and  advised  him  to  go  to 
Italy  for  his  debut.  Lacking  worldly  goods,  and 
not  familiar  with  other  languages  Olshansky 
nevertheless  set  out  for  Italy,  and  overcame  all 
professional  difficulties.  He  made  his  debut  in 
1 '  Eigoletto  ' '  at  Monza,  and  engagements  from 
other  towns  were  offered  to  him,  but  he  de- 
cided to  return  to  America  and  complete  his 
studies. 

Presently  Mr.  Olshansky  was  invited  to  sing 
at  a  musicale  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  B.  Guinness, 
where  his  excellent  diction,  perfect  phrasing, 
convincing  rendition  and  his  beautiful  voice, 
deeply  impressed  the  audience.  Among  them 
was  Mr.  R.  L.  Cottenet,  a  director  of  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-House,  who  at  once  arranged  for 
Olshansky  to  sing  before  Toscanini.  Mrs. 
Guinness,  however,  engaged  him  for  the  follow- 
ing season  and  sent  him  to  Paris  to  study 
French  roles  under  Andre  Caplet,  one  of  the 
conductors  of  the  Boston  Opera-House.  Thus, 


EDWARD   LANKOW 


The  Boston  Opera-House          397 

after  a  romantic  career,  Olshansky  is  a  member 
of  an  opera  company. 

Massimiliano  Kaplick,  a  baritone,  joined  the 
opera  company  when  only  twenty-two  years  of 
age.  He  is  a  native  of  Berlin,  son  of  a  wealthy 
merchant,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  became  a 
pupil  of  the  Berlin  Royal  Conservatory,  from 
which  he  went  to  Italy.  He  made  his  debut  as 
Valentine  in  "  Faust  "  at  Porto  Murisio  in 
1910,  and  sang  afterwards  in  Italy  and  Ger- 
many. 

On  January  10,  1912,  Vanni  Marcoux,  a 
French  basso,  made  his  American  debut  as 
Golaud  in  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande,"  and  cre- 
ated a  favorable  impression.  M.  Marcoux 
was  born  in  Turin  of  French  parents,  and  his 
father  became  a  naturalized  Italian  citizen. 
Mr.  Marcoux  studied  at  first  for  the  bar  and 
passed  the  necessary  examinations  for  admis- 
sion. He  had,  however,  received  a  very  thor- 
ough musical  training,  studying  the  voice  under 
Collino  in  Turin  and  Boyer  in  Paris,  and 
he  decided  to  turn  to  singing  as  a  profes- 
sion. Just  as  his  father  became  a  naturalized 
Italian,  he  himself  became  a  naturalized 
Frenchman. 

During  his  brief  sojourn  in  Boston  Mr.  Mar- 


398  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

coux  presented  new  and  remarkable  interpreta- 
tions of  several  operatic  characters. 

"  His  impersonation  of  Golaud,"  said  Philip 
Hale,  in  The  Boston  Herald,  "  was  most  care- 
fully composed.  It  was  vitalized  to  an  extraor- 
dinary degree.  The  character  of  the  old  hus- 
band .  .  .  was  little  by  little  revealed  until  the 
very  soul  of  the  man  was  bared.  Mr.  Marcoux's 
employment  of  his  tones  was  as  finely  dramatic 
as  his  facial  expression,  the  sobriety  and  seri- 
ousness of  his  gestures,  the  authoritative  bear- 
ing, the  dominating  individuality.  .  .  .  All  in 
all  it  was  one  of  the  most  striking  performances 
that  I  have  seen  on  the  operatic  stage  during 
the  last  thirty  years." 

On  January  26,  Marcoux  appeared  as  Mephis- 
topheles  in  "  Faust  "  and  again  surprised  his 
audience  by  his  unique  and  marvellous  char- 
acterization. Again  quoting  the  same  critic: 
"  Mr.  Marcoux  gave  a  remarkable  impersona- 
tion of  Mephistopheles  last  night,  probably  the 
most  subtly  composed  and  adroitly  acted  since 
Jamet  visited  this  city.  Edouard  de  Reszke's 
in  comparison  was  commonplace,  and  while 
Plangon  was  indisputably  superior  to  Mr.  Mar- 
coux as  a  singer,  his  dramatic  conception  was 
not  so  vivid,  picturesque  and  varied.  The 


VANNI   MARCOUX 


The  Boston  Opera-House          399 

Mephistopheles  of  Marcoux  is  at  first  friendly, 
companionable.  He  is  evidently  a  man  of  the 
world,  gay,  witty,  as  full  of  devices  as  Casa- 
nova, only  too  conscious  of  the  weakness  of 
mortals.  ...  In  the  garden  scene  his  business, 
whether  it  were  wholly  original  or  derived  in 
part  from  that  of  Faure,  for  years  the  great 
French  Mephistopheles,  was  singularly  effect- 
ive. .  .  .  His  invocation  was  not  roared,  nor 
was  he  melodramatic  in  his  handling  of  the 
hesitating  Faust.  .  .  .  His  finesse  in  vocal  nu- 
ances was  fully  displayed  in  the  serenade.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Marcoux 's  mockery  was  sinister,  not  bois- 
terous. .  .  .  The  features  indicated  were  only 
a  few  in  a  performance  that  should  be  carefully 
studied.  Perhaps  they  were  the  most  salient 
in  an  impersonation  that  was  engrossing  from 
beginning  to  end.  Mr.  Marcoux 's  voice  is  not 
robust ;  it  is  not  sensuous ;  but  it  was  used  with 
rare  skill  for  dramatic  effect." 

Mr.  Marcoux  appeared  also  in  the  perform- 
ances of  "  Tosca,"  when  Weingartner  con- 
ducted, and  Lucille  Marcel  took  the  title  role. 
Zenatello  sang  Mario. 

When  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande  "  was  pro- 
duced in  Boston  in  1912,  additional  interest  was 
given  to  the  event  by  the  importation  of  Ma- 


400  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

dame  Maeterlinck  to  interpret  the  part  of  Me- 
lisande.  Before  her  marriage  Madame  Maeter- 
linck was  a  well  known  actress,  —  Georgietta 
Leblanc,  —  and  Maeterlinck  is  said  to  have 
sworn  that  only  his  wife  could  be  the  real  Me- 
lisande.  This  was  said  regarding  the  work  as 
a  play,  for  Debussy  had  not  then  written  the 
opera,  also  Maeterlinck  has  no  idea  of  music 
and  is  said  to  consider  it  useless  noise.  But 
Madame  Maeterlinck  had  made  some  reputation 
by  giving  song  recitals  after  a  fashion  of  her 
own,  in  fact  she  had  sung  in  opera  and  concert 
long  before  her  marriage,  and  she  was  then  con- 
spicuous by  reason  of  an  intensity  that  was  fre- 
quently extravagant,  and  at  times  dangerously 
near  absurdity.  She  used  to  give  song  recitals 
of  an  "  intimate  nature,"  and  would  sing  this 
song  lying  down,  that  one  as  she  was  lolling  on 
a  chair,  and  so  on.  She  was  described  as  a 
talented  but  not  a  restful  person. 

In  1892,  when  she  was  newly  betrothed  to 
Maurice  Maeterlinck,  an  account  of  her  was 
published  in  a  musical  journal  now  defunct: 
"  Georgette  Leblanc  is  a  woman  and  singer  of 
striking  personality  and  pronounced  individ- 
uality. The  daughter  of  a  ship-owner  of  Rouen, 
she  is  not  the  pupil  of  any  music  school.  She 


The  Boston  Opera-House  401 

went  to  Paris  to  make  her  way  and  studied  with 
Bax.  Carvalho  made  her  acquaintance  and  en- 
gaged her  to  create  the  part  of  Frangoise  in 
Bruneau's  '  L'Attaque  du  Moulin  '  at  the  Opera 
Comique  (November  23,  1893).  She  then  dis- 
played an  unregulated  intensity  that  frightened 
the  conservative  manager,  and  the  singer  went 
to  the  Monnaie,  Brussels,  in  1895,  where  she 
made  a  sensation  in  *  La  Navarraise,'  *  Thai's,' 
4  Carmen.'  She  afterwards  sang  at  Bordeaux, 
Nice,  and,  in  1898,  at  Paris  she  gave  song  re- 
citals of  a  singular  nature,  — '  audiences  ly- 
riques  mimes.'  She  was  so  astonishing  in  her 
methods  that  one  of  the  critics  warned  young 
singers  against  imitation  of  her  lest  the  result 
would  be  laughable  disaster  to  the  composer  as 
well  as  the  singer." 

There  was  a  lengthy  review  of  her  imper- 
sonation of  Carmen  from  which  we  will  quote 
as  follows:  "  Carmen  is,  according  to  Miss  Le- 
blanc,  a  hybrid,  monstrous  creature.  You  look 
upon  her  with  eager  curiosity  and  with  infinite 
sadness.  .  .  .  Miss  Leblanc  makes  light  of  her 
voice.  She  maltreats  it,  triturates  it,  subjects 
it  to  inhuman  inflections.  .  .  .  Her  singing  is 
not  musical,  her  interpretation  lacks  the  naivete 
necessary  to  true  dramatic  power.  Neverthe- 


402  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

less  she  is  one  of  the  most  emotional  imper- 
sonators of  our  period.  Her  limited  abilities, 
hidden  by  a  thousand  details  in  accentuation, 
remind  one  of  the  weak  and  ornate  poetry  of  ar- 
tistic degeneration.  .  .  .  Thanks  to  her,  Anti- 
och  and  Alexandra,  adorable  and  corrupt  cities, 
live  again  for  an  hour." 

In  singing  the  role  of  Melisande  in  the  opera 
Madame  Maeterlinck  became  a  rival  of  Mary 
Garden  and  of  Maggie  Teyte,  two  singers  who 
had  achieved  reputation  in  the  part.  She  de- 
pended upon  her  originality,  and  chanted, 
rather  than  sang  the  music. 

Madame  Maeterlinck  is  both  French  and 
Italian.  Her  father  was  an  Italian  and  her 
mother  a  woman  of  an  old  family  of  Normandy. 
In  an  interview  with  a  representative  of  Mu- 
sical America,  she  expressed  her  views  as  to 
music  as  an  accessory  to  the  drama.  "  I  pre- 
fer the  play  with  the  music  of  Faure  to  the 
opera  of  Debussy,  as  wonderful  as  that  opera 
is,  *  speciale,  distingue,'  a  new  thing  in  art. 
But  the  drama  is  truer  if  you  ask  me.  I  do  not 
say  that  the  music  does  not  become  at  times  a 
more  poignant,  emotional  manner  of  expression 
than  the  spoken  word.  I  think  it  often  does. 
But  the  two  arts  are  separate,  and  if  they  do 


The  Boston  Opera-House          403 

not  harmonize  perfectly  in  Debussy's  setting 
of  '  Pelleas,'  where  or  when  will  they?  De- 
bussy's opera  is  a  little  paler,  and  it  is  a  trifle 
more  artificial,  more  *  arranged  '  than  Maeter- 
linck's drama.  Why  should  even  such  rare  and 
harmonious  music  as  this  be  asked  to  fill  out  the 
very  pauses,  the  very  silences  that  Maeterlinck 
loves  so  well,  and  that  say  so  much  more  than 
either  words  or  music.  On  the  other  hand, 
music  here  and  there,  when  it  is  naturally  sug- 
gested, when  it  comes  itself,  to  heighten  emo- 
tion or  produce  a  keener  impression  of  atmos- 
phere —  that  is  a  good  thing. 

* '  And  yet  the  opera  of  Debussy  is  very  won- 
derful. It  is  new,  and  in  its  way  irreproachable 
art.  Both  Debussy  and  my  husband  are  unique. 
They  have  influenced  the  young  men  in  France. 
Founded  a  new  school.  The  author  and  the 
musician  are  both  too  much  in  themselves,  too 
rapt  in  the  peculiar  art  which  they  have  created 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  what  one  would  call  a 
new  school.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  Maeterlinck's 
influence  on  the  younger  generation  of  French 
dramatists  has  been  great  and  lasting,  and  no 
one  will  say  that  Debussy  has  not  his  followers 
and  imitators. 

"  *  Of    the    men    who    have    set    your    hus- 


404  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

band's  dramas  to  music  whom  do  you  pre- 
fer? ' 

"Oh!  Debussy,  of  course.  Fevrier?  His 
music  is  very  poor.  It  has  no  distinction,  little 
originality,  and  little  relation  to  the  literary 
style  of  Maeterlinck,  which  is  of  the  very  first 
importance,  one  of  Debussy's  greatest  claims 
to  greatness  in  this  opera.  The  only  other  man 
who  has  been  pronouncedly  successful  so  far  is 
Dukas  with  his  '  Ariane  et  Barbe-Bleue!  ' 
There  is  a  great  score.  It  is  more  Wagnerian 
than  '  Pelleas.'  It  is  more  decorative,  too.  It 
has  more  line  and  substance  than  Debussy's 
music,  and  more  brilliancy  of  coloring.  He  is  a 
remarkable  man,  that  Dukas." 

Undoubtedly  the  most  important  event  in  the 
Boston  season  of  1911-1912  was  the  visit  of 
Felix  Weingartner,  with  his  wife,  Lucille  Mar- 
cel. Under  his  direction  were  given  three  of 
the  most  noteworthy  operatic  performances 
ever  given  in  the  Boston  Opera-House.  The 
first  "  Tristan  und  Isolde,"  the  second, 
"  Tosca,"  and  the  third,  "  Aida."  In 
"  Tosca  "  Lucille  Marcel  sang  the  title  role 
and  Vanni  Marcoux  was  Scarpia,  and  in 
"  Aida  "  Miss  Marcel  also  sang  the  title  role. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  here  a  short 


The  Boston  Opera-House          405 

biographical  sketch  of  Felix  Weingartner.  The 
following  is  taken  by  permission  from  Musical 
America: 

"  He  was  born  June  2,  1863,  at  Zara,  Dal- 
matia.  He  attended  school  at  Graz,  Styria,  and 
began  the  study  of  music  with  W.  A.  Bemy, 
whose  real  name  was  Mayer.  In  1880  he  pub- 
lished a  piece  for  piano.  He  left  college  the 
following  year  and  entered  the  Conservatory 
at  Leipsic,  where  he  was  given  a  scholarship  by 
the  Austrian  government  and  where  he  won  the 
Mozart  prize.  He  joined  the  circle  of  Liszt  at 
Weimar,  where  his  opera,  '  Sakuntala,'  was 
given  March  23,  1884.  Weingartner  was  then 
a  brilliant  pianist,  and  more  occupied  with  the 
affairs  of  a  virtuoso  than  with  the  science  of 
conducting.  Later  he  conducted  at  Konigsberg, 
Dantzig  and  Hamburg,  and  then  at  Frankfort, 
where  he  directed  performances  of  the  '  Ring.' 
In  1891  he  became  conductor  at  the  Royal  Opera 
at  Berlin  and  of  the  Royal  Symphony  concerts. 
In  1898  he  withdrew  from  the  Opera-House  and 
made  Munich  his  home.  He  first  visited  Amer- 
ica in  1904,  when  he  conducted  two  concerts  of 
the  New  York  Philharmonic  Society.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  conducted  four  more  concerts  by 
that  organization  and  appeared  in  Boston  as  a 


406  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

pianist,  playing  the  piano  part  of  his  sextet  at 
a  Kneisel  concert.  He  appeared  in  Boston  in 
Symphony  Hall,  January  17,  1906,  leading  the 
New  York  Philharmonic  —  a  memorable  occa- 
sion, when  a  Boston  audience  rose  to  its  feet 
and  shouted  after  a  performance  of  Berlioz's 
Symphonic  Fantastique,  which  was  simply  a 
revelation.  In  1908  Mr.  Weingartner  succeeded 
Gustav  Mahler  at  the  Vienna  Opera  and  as  con- 
ductor of  the  concerts  of  the  Vienna  Philhar- 
monic. Last  year  Mr.  Weingartner  resigned 
the  directorship  of  the  Vienna  Opera,  and  a 
partial  reason  for  this  step  was  the  charges  of 
favoritism  that  were  brought  against  him  on 
account  of  extended  concert  tours  in  which  he 
conducted  and  played  the  accompaniments  of 
Miss  Marcel." 

Lucille  Marcel  is  an  American  from  New 
York,  whose  family  name  is  Wasself.  She 
studied  piano  with  Alexander  Lambert  and 
singing  with  Madame  Serrano  in  her  native 
city  for  four  years  when  a  young  girl. 

Early  in  her  'teens  she  went  to  Berlin  to 
study  music  and  thence,  in  1904,  to  Paris,  where 
she  was  engaged  by  Carre,  director  of  the  Opera 
Comique.  Jean  de  Eeszke,  hearing  her  sing 
before  the  date  set  for  her  debut,  influenced  her 


LUCILLE   MARCEL 


The  Boston  Opera-House          407 

to  postpone  her  appearance  and  study  under 
him,  which  she  did.  He  thought  so  much  of 
her  voice  and  promise  that  he  gave  much  time 
and  care  to  her  training. 

On  March  24,  1908,  Miss  Marcel  made  her 
first  operatic  appearance  as  Elektra,  in  the 
opera  of  that  name  by  Richard  Strauss,  and 
she  thus  achieved  great  distinction.  It  is  re- 
lated that  Madame  von  Mildenburg,  the  dra- 
matic soprano  of  the  Imperial  Opera  Company 
at  Vienna,  did  not  feel  equal  to  so  trying  a  part, 
and  declined  to  sing  it.  Likewise  also  the  second 
dramatic  soprano  of  the  company.  Some  time 
before  Jean  de  Reszke  had  recommended  Miss 
Marcel  to  Felix  Weingartner,  who  now  thought 
of  her  and  offered  her  the  part.  She  accepted, 
and  at  the  performance  made  a  profound  im- 
pression. It  is  said  also  that  Richard  Strauss 
asked  her  to  learn  the  part  of  Salome. 

Miss  Marcel  afterwards  sang  Eva  in  the 
11  Meistersingers,"  Marguerite  in  "  Faust," 
Tosca  and  Aida. 

In  April,  1910,  Miss  Marcel  resigned  her  posi- 
tion at  the  Vienna  Imperial  Opera-House,  and 
in  the  following  year  she  became  Mrs.  Felix 
Weingartner. 

When  she  appeared  in  Boston  in  February, 


408  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

1912,  she  made  a  deep  impression,  but  appar- 
ently pleased  more  as  Marguerite  than  as  Tosca 
or  Aida.  Her  voice  is  of  a  beautiful  velvety 
quality,  and  her  dramatic  ability  of  a  very  high 
order.  An  excellent  review  of  her  perform- 
ances in  Boston  was  given  in  The  Herald,  by 
Philip  Hale,  and  are  as  follows: 

As  Tosca:  "  Madame  Marcel,  who  first  won 
an  European  reputation  by  her  impersonation 
of  Elektra  at  the  Court  Opera-House  in  Vienna, 
has  a  voice  of  beautiful  quality  and  its  strength 
is  sufficient  for  all  legitimate  dramatic  pur- 
poses. Her  tones  are  full,  rich,  and  even.  She 
has  been  well  taught,  and  her  own  musical  in- 
telligence was  evident  in  all  that  she  did, 
whether  it  were  in  the  lighter  moments  of  the 
first  act,  or  in  the  melodramatic  scene  with 
Scarpia.  She  did  not  sacrifice  the  melodic  line 
or  ignore  the  essential  principles  of  song  for 
the  sake  of  dramatic  emphasis.  On  the  other 
hand,  she  was  constantly  expressive  in  song. 

"  While  she  is  not  an  actress  of  an  intensely 
passionate  nature,  while  she  did  not  last  night 
rise  to  any  tragic  height,  she  had  a  definite  idea 
as  to  the  character  of  Tosca,  and  presented  it 
unmistakably.  .  .  .  Madame  Marcel  at  once 
struck  the  note  of  deep  love  for  the  painter. 


The  Boston  Opera-House          409 

She  was  wounded  to  the  quick  when  she  thought 
him  unfaithful;  but  she  did  not  rant  nor  did 
she  behave  like  a  spoiled  child.  Her  Floria  was 
a  woman  of  the  higher  sort,  not  merely  an  ap- 
plauded singer  who  fancied  Cavaradossi.  She 
was  affectionate,  demonstrative  in  her  affection. 
Nor  when  Scarpia  aroused  her  jealousy  did  she 
show  herself  a  virago." 

As  Marguerite:  "  Madame  Marcel  took  the 
part  of  Marguerite  for  the  first  time  in  this 
country.  Her  performance  was  distinguished 
by  the  beauty  of  her  singing  and  adherence  to 
the  old  traditions  concerning  the  composition 
of  the  part  rather  than  by  any  marked  dramatic 
intensity  or  originality  in  conception.  It  was  a 
pleasure  to  see  again  a  Marguerite  costumed 
as  a  German  and  not  as  a  Dutch  or  a  French 
maiden.  It  was  also  a  pleasure  to  see  a  Mar- 
guerite who  played  the  part  simply,  and  with- 
out an  attempt  at  new  stage  effects  that  might 
startle  and  arouse  discussion.  Her  first  meet- 
ing with  Faust  was  natural,  free  from  incon- 
gruous coquetry,  and  also  free  from  senti- 
mentalism.  ...  In  the  garden  scene  she  was  a 
sympathetic  figure  by  reason  of  the  beauty  of 
her  tones,  her  vocal  skill,  and  the  unaffectedness 
of  her  acting.  .  .  .  Her  action  in  the  love  scene 


410  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

was  quietly  emotional,  not  passionate,  and  in 
the  outburst  to  the  stars  there  might  well  have 
been  a  more  passionate  confession.  ...  In  the 
scenes  that  followed  she  preserved  the  sobriety 
of  her  conception  of  the  character." 

As  Aida:  "  She  sang  the  music  admirably, 
and  it  is  suited  to  her  voice,  for  if  the  part  of 
Aida  is  ranked,  and  justly,  among  those  for  a 
dramatic  soprano,  the  music  is  for  the  most 
part  lyrical,  and  lyrical  in  the  grand  style.  .  .  . 
Madame  Marcel 's  voice  was  powerful  enough  to 
make  an  effect  in  the  great  ensemble  of  the  sec- 
ond act,  although  in  this  one  instance  a  voice 
of  more  metallic  brilliancy  is  perhaps  to  be  de- 
sired. .  .  .  Madame  Marcel  has  the  voice  and 
the  pure  vocal  art  to  give  character  to  the  part 
by  song  alone. 

"  Her  impersonation  was  simple,  and  as  a 
dramatic  performance,  distinguished  by  what 
she  fortunately  did  not  do  rather  than  by  what 
she  did.  .  .  .  Her  impersonation  was  free  from 
mannerisms,  free  from  extravagancies  com- 
mitted by  singers,  who,  feeling  the  necessity  of 
acting,  are  merely  violent  in  their  attempt  to 
convince  the  audience  that  they  are  acting.  .  .  . 
She  was  emotional  in  her  singing;  she  gave 
character  to  Aida  through  the  music." 


The  Boston  Opera-House  411 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Madame  Marcel  pos- 
sesses a  wonderfully  beautiful  voice,  and  that  it 
may  be  difficult  to  describe  it  adequately,  but 
one  critic  after  hearing  her  as  Tosca  unbur- 
dened his  soul  in  the  following  words :  * '  It  is 
given  to  few  sopranos  to  have  a  tone  of  such 
breadth  and  depth,  velvety  and  edgeless,  that 
makes  one  think  of  treading  on  the  softest  and 
thickest  of  Oriental  carpets." 

With  Mr.  Weingartner  and  his  wife  came 
Jacques  Urlus,  a  tenor  from  the  opera-house  at 
Leipzig,  to  take  the  part  of  Tristan.  Mr.  Urlus 
ranks  high  in  the  younger  generation  of  tenors 
in  Germany.  The  impression  made  in  this  per- 
formance was  excellent,  and  Mr.  Urlus  was  en- 
gaged for  the  Metropolitan  Opera-House  and 
for  the  Boston  Opera-House  for  the  next  sea- 
son. 

The  most  concise  criticism  of  that  presenta- 
tion of  Tristan  was  written  by  Philip  Hale,  in 
The  Herald: 

"  Mr.  Urlus  in  the  first  act  was  not  at  first 
sight  a  strikingly  romantic  figure,  but  he  soon 
made  a  deep  impression  by  the  fine  quality  of 
his  voice ;  by  the  skill  with  which  he  used  it,  by 
his  simple  and  yet  imposing  bearing,  and  above 
all  by  the  absence  of  vocal  tricks,  mannerisms, 


412  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  faults  which  we  have  for  many  years  been 
obliged  to  associate  with  German  tenors  in  Wag- 
ner's  music  dramas. 

"  His  declamation  always  had  force  and 
meaning,  and  he  did  not  shout  or  bawl ;  nor  did 
he  mistake  palsy  for  passion.  In  cantabile 
passages,  voice,  vocal  skill  and  emotional  ex- 
pression gave  an  additional  glory  to  music  that 
in  itself  is  wondrously  beautiful  —  as  in  the 
long  duet  with  Isolde  in  the  second  act.  Thrice 
admirable  was  his  farewell  to  Isolde  before  he 
met  Melot  in  the  one-sided  duel.  And  in  the 
last  act  he  was  impressively  dramatic  without 
extravagance. 

"  All  in  all,  no  German  tenor  who  has  taken 
the  part  of  Tristan  in  this  city  has  equalled 
him." 

During  the  third  season  of  the  Boston  Opera 
Company,  fourteen  Italian  operas  were  per- 
formed, nine  French,  two  German  and  one 
in  English,  — "  The  Sacrifice, ' '  by  Con- 
verse. 

The  season  opened  with  the  production,  for 
the  first  time  in  Boston,  of  *  *  Samson  et  Dalila. ' ' 
"  Werther  "  was  also  produced  for  the  first 
time  in  Boston,  and  "  Pelleas  et  Melisande  ' 
and  "  Thai's  "  were  new  to  the  Boston  Opera- 


The  Boston  Opera-House  413 

House,  as  were  also  "  Mignon,"  "  Hansel  und 
Gretel,"  and  "  Tristan  und  Isolde." 

The  productions  of  "  Samson  et  Dalila," 
11  Germania,"  "  Werther,"  and  "  La  Haban- 
era "  excited  especial  admiration. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  the  visiting 
artists,  as  they  are  fully  dealt  with  elsewhere, 
but  for  a  brief  review  of  the  members  of  the 
company  the  summary  published  in  The  Bos- 
ton Herald,  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Philip  Hale, 
will  be  found  concise  and  to  the  point :  — 

"  Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  quality 
of  the  singers  heard  here  this  season  for  the 
first  time  at  the  opera-house. 

"  Miss  Amsden,  born  in  or  near  Boston,  has 
a  voice  of  unquestionable  beauty,  a  voice  power- 
ful enough  for  dramatic  parts.  As  a  rule  she 
sang  with  much  intelligence.  Mme.  Brozia  was 
unfortunate  in  her  debut  as  Thais.  Although 
she  has  a  pretty  face,  she  is  not  finely  formed 
nor  does  she  carry  herself  well.  We  all  expect 
a  revelation  of  beauty  and  grace  when  Thais 
comes  upon  the  stage.  She  was  more  fortunate 
in  her  sympathetic  impersonations  of  Mimi  and 
Manon,  nor  was  her  Marguerite  so  ineffective  as 
some  have  said.  Her  voice  was  light  and  agree- 
able when  it  was  not  forced.  As  Mimi  she  acted 


414  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

with  taste  and  intelligence,  and  her  Manon  was 
charming  and  in  the  St.  Sulpice  scene  it  was 
passionate. 

"  Mr.  Barreau  took  minor  parts  as  a  rule, 
but  he  is  a  valuable  member  of  the  company. 
His  voice  is  agreeable  and  well  trained. 

"  Mme.  De  Courcy  did  well  what  she  was 
called  to  do. 

11  Mr.  Lankow,  though  the  part  was  a 
small  one  on  the  opening  night,  at  once  made 
a  most  favorable  impression.  There  are  few 
voices  like  his ;  I  know  of  no  bass  to  be  compared 
with  him  in  this  country;  for  the  voice  is  a 
true  bass  of  liberal  compass,  rich,  expressive, 
sonorous.  Here  is  a  real  bass,  not  a  bass  of 
baritone  quality. 

"  Mr.  de  Potter  is  not  yet  ripe  vocally  for 
the  stage.  The  organ  is  no  doubt  naturally  a 
good  one,  but  the  singer  has  not  yet  learned  to 
use  it  properly  or  effectively.  As  an  actor  he  is 
inexperienced. 

"  The  case  of  Mr.  Riddez  is  an  unfortunate 
one.  He  has  had  experience  and  is  dramatically 
intelligent.  The  composition  of  his  parts  com- 
mands respect. 

"  Mr.  Silli  is  evidently  a  man  of  large  rou- 
tine experience,  a  useful  member.  His  Ange- 


The  Boston  Opera-House  415 

lotti  is  well  conceived.  In  other  parts  he  was 
the  respectable  bass  who  has  faced  many  audi- 
ences. 

"  Miss  Scotney  has  a  true  coloratura  voice, 
with  high  notes  which  she  takes  without  effort 
and  a  middle  register  that  at  present  is  pale 
and  in  need  of  fatting.  She  is  not  yet  ready  to 
take  such  parts  as  Lucia,  Gilda,  Violetta,  on 
subscription  nights,  but  she  promises  much. 

"  Mr.  Clement  may  justly  be  ranked  as  a 
member  of  the  local  company  and  he  and 
Messrs.  Constantino  and  Zenatello  were,  then, 
the  leading  tenors.  Mr.  Zenatello  developed 
greatly  in  the  course  of  the  season  and  shone 
in  lyric  and  also  heroic  parts.  He  stands  now 
in  the  very  first  rank  as  a  dramatic  singer.  Mr. 
Clement's  voice  was  not  always  in  good  condi- 
tion ;  it  sometimes  sounded  tired  and  it  was  not 
always  under  control,  but  the  singer  even  then 
was  interesting  by  reason  of  the  polish  of  his 
diction  and  the  finesse  of  his  histronic  art.  His 
Werther  was  one  of  the  features  of  the  season. 
Mr.  Constantino  is  still  a  tenor  of  the  old 
school.  When  he  is  in  good  humor,  his  voice 
and  method  give  much  pleasure,  but  he  is  re- 
strained in  action  or  in  his  eagerness  to  show 
the  audience  that  he  can  act,  his  sweep- 


416  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ing  and  perfunctory  gestures  are  almost  gro- 
tesque. 

*  *  Mr.  Polese  was  often  heard  and  he  contrib- 
uted largely  to  the  success  of  the  season.  He 
added  roles  to  his  repertoire  and  thereby  won 
distinction.  Mr.  Blanchart  had  occasion  to 
show  the  authority  that  comes  from  native 
stage  instinct  and  long  experience  in  leading 
opera-houses. 

"  Mme.  Melis  is  an  excellent  Minnie.  Miss 
Fisher  has  gained  steadily.  She  and  Miss 
Swartz  are  among  the  most  valuable  members 
of  the  company,  for  what  they  do  is  done  well. 
The  two  were  seen  in  parts  new  to  them,  to 
their  advantage  and  to  the  joy  of  the  public. 
Miss  Leveroni  has  gained  in  ease  and  the  abil- 
ity to  express  a  sentiment  or  give  a  clue  to 
a  character. 

' '  Mme.  Gay  has  been  indefatigable  as  a  lead- 
ing member  of  the  company.  Her  Pilar  gave 
fresh  interest  to  Laparra's  melodrama. 

"  The  season  on  the  whole  has  been  a  brilliant 
one.  The  coming  of  Mme.  Leblanc-Maeterlinck, 
Mme.  Marcel,  Messrs.  Marcoux,  Urlus  and 
Weingartner  with  the  production  of  *  Pelleas 
et  Melisande  '  and  '  Tristan  und  Isolde  '  would 
alone  give  it  distinction;  but  there  have  been 


The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day    417 

noteworthy  performances,  and  the  standard  has 
been  higher  than  that  of  last  season.  There 
has  been  marked  progress  in  the  ballet;  the 
orchestra  is  better  balanced  and  more  plastic; 
the  chorus  is  well  trained." 

So  much  for  the  operas  and  the  singers.  The 
effect  of  the  opera  upon  the  community  is  ex- 
pressed in  a  most  amusing  manner  by  a  writer 
in  The  Transcript  whose  dissertation  should  be 
perpetuated : 

"  The  grand  opera  season  in  Boston  is  over; 
and  it  passes  with  a  revived  and  intensified 
interest,  and  an  assurance  of  increased  patron- 
age and  a  more  permanent  community  support 
in  the  coming  seasons.  Whenever  any  interest 
captures  the  heart  and  mind  of  Boston  it  be- 
comes an  institution,  and,  as  such,  a  thing  for 
Bostonians  to  praise  and  prize ;  and  grand  opera 
has  about  reached  that  stage  of  growth  in  Bos- 
ton. New  York  has  its  grand  opera;  there  it 
is  a  fad  and  a  fashion ;  not  to  be  a  patron  of  the 
opera  is  to  be  a  negligible  quantity;  it  is  just 
now  the  passion  of  the  rich,  the  near  rich  and 
the  little  brothers  of  the  rich.  It  does  for  the 
owners  of  jewels  and  clothes  the  same  office 
that  Madison  Square  Garden  does  for  horses, 
automobiles  and  circuses ;  it  is  the  show  place  of 


418   The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

the  spenders,  the  semi-nude  and  the  chatterers ; 
but  by  and  by  when  some  other  expensive 
method  of  exhibiting  raw  wealth  and  half-naked 
women  is  discovered  New  York  will  flout  opera, 
and  only  the  galleries  which  love  music  for 
music's  sake  will  patronize  it. 

"  In  Boston  grand  opera  is  now  indorsed  by 
all  the  churches  and  churchmen,  and  attendance 
at  the  opera  places  no  one's  morals  under  sus- 
picion. Boston  has  adopted  the  opera  and  taken 
it  to  its  heart  and  its  moral  and  social  stand- 
ing is  unquestioned.  There  is  a  close  analogy 
between  the  Boston  Opera-House  and  the  king- 
dom of  heaven;  it  has  its  angels;  the  saints 
sustain  it;  the  Jordan  refreshes  and  fertilizes 
it ;  the  Society  of  St.  Cecilia  chants  its  praises ; 
it  is  open  to  rich  and  poor ;  and  the  poorer  you 
are  when  you  stand  outside  its  portals  the 
higher  you  go  after  you  enter  in.  The  opera- 
house  repeats  the  Story  of  Dives  and  Lazarus. 
When  last  heard  from  Lazarus  was  resting  on 
Abraham's  bosom  while  the  malefactor  was 
broiling  in  the  nether  places;  the  exact  loca- 
tion of  the  patriarchal  bosom  is  not  indicated, 
but  as  Lazarus  was  in  a  position  to  peek  over 
and  enjoy  the  rapturous  vision  of  Dives  grill- 
ing and  squirming,  the  presumption  is  that 


The  Boston  Opera-House          419 

the  patriarch  and  pauper  were  occupying  a 
front  seat  in  the  gallery  while  Dives  was  in  the 
pit,  or,  as  we  term  it,  the  orchestra  chairs. ' ' 

Whether  Boston  is  as  different  from  New 
York  as  the  above  article  indicates  is  open  .to 
question.  Opera  as  a  social  function,  with  all 
the  display  which  this  term  implies,  is  con- 
spicuous in  Boston.  The  writer  in  The  Tran- 
script reminds  the  present  scribe  of  Lord  Nel- 
son, who,  not  wishing  to  see  certain  signals, 
applied  the  telescope  to  his  blind  eye. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE      CHICAGO  -  PHILADELPHIA      COMPANY      UNDER 
ANDREAS   DIPPEL 

WHEN  Oscar  Hammerstein  withdrew  from  the 
operatic  field  in  1910  his  interests  were  dis- 
posed of  partly  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
Company,  and  partly  to  a  company  formed  by 
capitalists  of  Chicago  and  Philadelphia.  In 
Chicago  the  Auditorium  was  remodelled  and 
turned  into  an  opera-house,  Andreas  Dippel 
was  appointed  director,  and  Bernard  Ulrich 
business  manager.  Many  of  the  singers  of  the 
Manhattan  Opera-House  were  engaged  by  Dip- 
pel,  who  also  secured  others,  and  got  together 
a  very  good  company.  The  plan  was  to  give  a 
season  of  ten  weeks  in  Chicago,  and  then  to  give 
a  similar  season  in  Philadelphia. 

For  many  years  Chicago  had  been  obliged 
to  take  what  it  could  get  in  the  way  of  opera. 
Sometimes  one  week,  sometimes  two  weeks,  and 
there  were  several  years  when  Chicago  had  to 
get  along  without  opera  altogether.  In  short, 

420 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  421 

Chicago  was  practically  in  the  same  condition  as 
all  the  other  of  the  most  favored  cities  outside 
of  New  York,  —  and  perhaps  New  Orleans, 
which  has  always  had  a  separate  operatic  exist- 
ence of  its  own,  of  which  little  is  heard  or 
known  in  the  North. 

In  the  season  of  1909-1910  Chicago  was  fa- 
vored with  a  whole  month  of  opera.  Then  the 
Hammerstein  collapse  occurred,  and  the  deter- 
mination arose  amongst  the  solid  men  of 
Chicago,  to  supply  the  long  felt  want  of  a  per- 
manent organization.  A  capital  of  $500,000  was 
soon  subscribed.  For  the  impression  which  that 
season  left  upon  the  public  it  will  be  well  to 
quote  from  an  article  published  in  the  Dial  at 
the  end  of  the  season,  in  January,  1911 : 

"  Among  the  elements  which  have  contrib- 
uted to  the  success  of  a  venture  which  caused 
many  wise  heads  to  wag  doubtfully  a  few 
months  ago  we  may  mention  those  of  major 
importance.  The  enterprise  was  set  in  motion 
by  the  right  kind  of  driving  force,  the  quality 
of  energy  which  is  put  into  their  work  by  men 
of  practical  affairs.  These  men  are  not  ac- 
custumed  to  failure,  and  they  have  now  shown 
that  in  the  untried  field  of  artistic  endeavor 
the  far-sighted  and  sagacious  methods  which 


422  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

bring  business  success  are  applicable  to  other 
than  strictly  business  interests.  .  .  .  Finally  the 
artistic  forces  assembled  were  such  as  to  win 
confidence  from  the  start,  a  confidence  which  we 
need  hardly  say  has  been  more  than  justified 
by  the  ten  weeks  of  actual  performance.  Not 
only  were  we  provided  with  an  array  of  soloists 
capable  of  meeting  an  exacting  demand  and  of 
adapting  themselves  to  a  great  variety  of  parts, 
but  also  with  a  completely  adequate  chorus  and 
orchestra,  and  with  stage  settings  that  might 
fairly  be  described  as  sumptuous.  We  have 
only  to  add  that  as  director  general  or  field- 
marshal  of  all  these  forces  and  material  ad- 
juncts we  were  given  the  services  of  Signor 
Cleofonte  Campanini,  a  great  leader. 

"  This  much  may  be  fairly  said  in  the  way 
of  whole  hearted  praise.  There  remains  the 
task  of  indicating,  less  for  reproof  than  in  the 
hope  of  future  correction,  what  seem  to  us  to 
have  been  instances  of  mistaken  judgment  in 
the  planning  of  the  work  and  its  business  man- 
agement. It  has  been  frankly  an  opera  season 
upon  a  French-Italian  basis,  with  Verdi,  Puc- 
cini, Massenet,  Charpentier,  and  Debussy  for 
its  supporting  pillars.  This  has  meant  the 
production  of  several  works  hitherto  unknown 


The  Chicago -Philadelphia  Company  423 

to  our  public  —  'La  Fanciulla  del  West,' 
1  Thais,'  '  Louise,'  and  '  Pelleas  et  Melis- 
ande, '  —  for  which  we  are  extremely  grateful. 
They  are  not  great  works  but  they  are  inter- 
esting ones,  and  it  is  well  that  they  should  have 
been  performed  —  ideally,  because  it  is  only  by 
test  of  performance  that  new  works  may  be  ap- 
praised ;  practically,  because  the  appeal  of  nov- 
elty is  one  that  the  box  office  may  not  ignore. 
With  these  works  we  must  also  mention  the 
over-discussed  *  Salome.'  This  opera  was  an- 
nounced long  in  advance,  was  given  two  per- 
formances, and  was  then  withdrawn  in  defer- 
ence to  a  storm  of  protest.  .  .  .  With  the  excep- 
tion of  '  Salome  '  and  possibly  *  Les  Hugue- 
nots,' no  work  by  a  German  was  given  during 
the  entire  season.  This  exclusion  was  deliber- 
ate, and  did  not  result  from  a  lack  of  the  requis- 
ite forces ;  it  had  only  the  effect  of  alienating  a 
large  portion  of  the  opera-going  public,  the  sec- 
tion whose  tastes  are  the  most  deserving  of 
consideration.  .  .  .  We  believe  that  the  manage- 
ment will  not  again  make  the  mistake  of  ignor- 
ing German  opera  in  the  interest  of  the  inferior 
French  and  Italian  forms.  And  we  urge  upon 
them  with  all  the  emphasis  at  our  command  not 
to  give  heed  to  the  ill-advised  plea  for  opera 


424  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

in  the  English  language,  if  that  is  to  mean  the 
wrenching  of  the  score  from  the  forms  of  for- 
eign speech  with  which  it  is  perforce  most  vi- 
tally linked.  To  deal  in  this  brutal  fashion 
with  such  a  work  as  *  Tristan,'  or  '  Aida,' 
or  '  Pelleas  '  would  be  an  artistic  indignity 
of  which  we  do  not  like  to  think  any  true  musi- 
cian capable.  Those  who  have  asked  for  it  have 
only  the  shallowest  of  arguments  to  advance  in 
its  favor,  and  they  ignore  the  most  fundamental 
aesthetic  considerations.  The  only  opera  that 
has  a  right  to  be  sung  in  English  is  opera  which 
English  composers  have  fitted  to  English  words. 
When  such  works  are  given  to  the  world  we  shall 
be  among  the  foremost  to  welcome  their  appear- 
ance. But  to  anyone  for  whom  an  opera  is  a 
work  of  art,  an  attempt  to  sing  it  with  trans- 
lated words  is  simply  unthinkable." 

This  article  has  been  quoted  at  length  be- 
cause, in  addition  to  the  account  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  permanent  opera  in  Chicago,  it  deals 
with  several  questions  of  much  importance.  On 
some  of  the  artistic  points  many  people  will 
differ  from  the  writer  in  the  Dial.  As  to 
whether  the  French  and  Italian  forms  of  opera 
are  inferior  to  the  German,  for  instance.  The 
complaint  about  German  opera  was  answered 


The  Chicago -Philadelphia  Company  425 

to  a  reasonable  extent  in  the  following  season, 
and  Chicago  got  more  novelties  than  any  other 
city.  In  regard  to  the  translation  of  operas 
into  English  most  people  will  agree  with  the 
writer  in  the  Dial. 

For  the  first  season  the  leading  singers  were 
Mar}-  Garden  (who  drew  an  $11,000  house 
during  the  first  week),  Carolina  White,  Lil- 
lian Grenville,  Mabel  Riegelmann  (a  Chicago 
singer),  Jeanne  Korolowicz,  Alice  Zepilli,  Ma- 
dame Bressler-Gianoli,  and  Eleanora  de  Cis- 
neros,  while  among  the  men  were  Nicolo  Zerola, 
John  McCormack,  Bassi,  Sammarco,  Daddi, 
Dalmores,  and  Dufranne,  most  of  whom  have 
been  referred  to  in  the  preceding  pages. 

In  addition,  there  were  several  younger 
singers,  and  singers  engaged  during  the  season 
of  1910  and  the  following  one,  whose  names 
were  not  prominent  at  the  outset. 

Among  the  new  and  younger  artists  perhaps 
the  most  noteworthy  is  Carolina  White,  who 
made  a  brilliant  success  in  the  Chicago-Phila- 
delphia Opera  Company.  She  was  born  at 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  in  1885.  She  attended  the 
public  schools  and  was  graduated  from  the 
Brighton  high  school  at  the  age  of  seventeen. 
She  then  studied  singing  with  Weldon  Hunt,  a 


426  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Boston  teacher,  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  she  went  abroad  with  her  teacher 
and  his  wife  to  coach  for  opera  at  Naples  under 
Frederick  Eoberti,  and  Carlo  Sebastiani.  She 
made  her  debut  at  Naples  in  the  San  Carlo 
Opera-House  in  Wagner 's  i  l  Dusk  of  the  Gods, ' ' 
and  afterwards  appeared  as  Aida,  Santuzza, 
and  in  "  Mefistofele."  In  the  winter  of  1909- 
1910  she  was  engaged  by  Eicordi  and  sang  lead- 
ing roles  in  "  La  Wally,"  "  Manon,"  "  Aida," 
« <  IriS) "  "  Tosca, "  "  Madame  Butterfly, ' ' 
"  Herodiade  "  and  other  operas,  in  the  chief 
opera-houses  of  Italy. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  she  joined  the  Chicago 
Opera  Company  and  was  the  first  in  that  city  to 
take  the  part  of  Minnie  in  Puccini's  "  Girl  of 
the  Golden  West."  Her  first  appearance  in 
Boston  was  in  the  same  role  on  February  24, 
1911.  She  also  created  the  part  of  Susanne  in 
Wolf-Ferrari's  "  Secret  of  Susanne  "  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera-House  in  New  York  the 
same  season,  and  during  1911-1912  she  created 
the  part  of  Maliella  in  '  *  The  Jewels  of  the  Ma- 
donna," singing  it  with  equal  success  in  New 
York,  Chicago,  and  Philadelphia. 

Miss  White's  voice  is  a  soprano  of  beautiful 
quality,  she  has  a  wonderfully  quick  intelli- 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 
CAROLINA    WHITE   AND   SAMMARCO 


IN   "SECRET   OF   SUZANNE 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  427 

gence,  and  lias  a  repertoire  of  forty-five  operas 
that  she  can  sing  in  French,  Italian,  German 
and  English.  In  1910  she  married  Paul  Lon- 
gone,  an  orchestral  conductor  whom  she  met  in 
Naples. 

Jeanne  Korolowicz,  the  Polish  dramatic  so- 
prano of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company, 
was  born  in  Warsaw.  She  received  her  musical 
education  at  the  conservatory  in  Lemberg,  from 
which  she  was  graduated  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen. During  her  student  days  she  profited 
greatly  by  a  scholarship  which  was  established 
by  Marcella  Sembrich,  and  in  later  years  when 
she  was  prospering  she  herself  established  two 
scholarships  in  the  same  conservatory,  to  help 
needy  students.  At  her  graduation  she  re- 
ceived a  gold  medal.  She  made  her  debut  at 
the  Lemberg  opera  and  was  soon  after  called 
to  Warsaw  where  she  remained  for  over  five 
years.  She  created  the  leading  soprano  role 
in  Paderewski's  opera  "  Manru." 

At  the  end  of  her  five  years  in  Warsaw  Miss 
Korolowicz  made  a  tour  of  Europe,  visiting  the 
principal  cities  from  Moscow  to  London.  She 
was  engaged  for  Chicago  in  1910. 

Jane  Osborn-Hannah,  is  a  natrve  of  Chicago 
and  wife  of  Frank  Hannah,  American  consul  at 


428  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Magdeburg,  Ger.  As  a  girl  she  studied  singing 
under  her  mother,  who  was  a  teacher  in  Cincin- 
nati. In  1903,  after  meeting  with  much  success 
on  the  concert  stage,  Madame  Osborn-Hannah 
was  advised  to  go  abroad  and  take  up  the  study 
of  opera.  She  went  to  Berlin  and  placed  her- 
self under  the  care  of  Rose  Sucher,  with  whom 
she  prepared  all  the  Wagner  soprano  roles  with 
the  exception  of  the  two  Briinnhildes  and 
Isolde,  though  later  she  did  prepare  the  ' '  Sieg- 
fried "  Brunnhilde  for  a  special  performance. 
After  a  year  of  hard  work  she  was  introduced 
to  Arthur  Nickisch,  then  director  of  the  Leip- 
sic  opera,  and  he  invited  her  to  make  an  appear- 
ance as  a  guest.  She  sang  Elizabeth,  and  did 
so  well  that  she  was  engaged  for  three  years, 
during  which  she  mastered  some  twenty  opera- 
tic roles.  Her  greatest  success  has  been  in 
"  Madame  Butterfly,"  but  she  is  known  gener- 
ally as  a  Wagnerian  soprano. 

In  1909  Andreas  Dippel  heard  Madame  Os- 
born-Hannah sing  and  engaged  her  for  the  Met- 
ropolitan Opera  Company,  of  which  he  was  then 
administrative  director,  and  when  he  became 
director  of  the  Philadelphia-Chicago  Company 
he  took  her  with  him. 

Alice  Zepilli,  who  is   one   of  the  foremost 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  429 

members  of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company, 
came  first  to  this  country  as  a  member  of  the 
Manhattan  Company.  Miss  Zepilli  is  a  native 
of  Monte  Carlo,  a  city  which,  although  it  is 
small  has  a  wide  reputation,  and  is  an  impor- 
tant musical  centre.  Miss  Zepilli 's  father  was 
musical  director  in  this  city,  and  he  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  musical  education  of  his  daugh- 
ter, so  that  in  her  early  years  she  was  thor- 
oughly trained  in  music,  and  when  it  was  found 
that  she  had  a  fine,  sweet  soprano  voice,  worth 
cultivating,  it  was  decided  to  train  her  for  the 
operatic  stage.  At  first  she  studied  some  operas 
by  herself,  but  presently  she  left  home  to  con- 
tinue her  studies  in  Milan,  where  she  made 
good  progress  for  a  time  and  then  went  on  to 
Paris.  There  she  became  a  pupil  of  Eose 
Caron. 

Her  debut  as  a  public  singer  was  made  in 
Venice,  after  which  she  returned  to  Monte  Carlo 
to  sing  in  opera,  and  she  appeared  at  different 
times  with  many  of  the  stars  of  the  operatic 
world,  among  them  being  Caruso.  Offers  from 
other  places  now  began  to  come,  and  she  ac- 
cepted an  engagement  at  Buenos  Ayres.  On 
her  return  from  that,  she  went  to  Cairo,  Egypt. 
As  before  said,  her  New  York  debut  was  made 


430  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

at  the  Manhattan  Opera-House,  where  her  sweet 
voice  and  winsome  personality  fitted  her  for 
dainty  and  pathetic  roles.  She  made  a  hit  as 
the  Doll  in  "  Tales  of  Hoffmann,"  —  a  memor- 
able impersonation  of  a  quaint  and  fantastic 
part.  Between  her  American  seasons  Miss 
Zepilli  has  sung  at  the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris, 
"  Manon,"  "La  Boheme,"  "La  Traviata," 
' '  Lakme, ' '  and  '  *  Madame  Butterfly, ' '  in  which 
latter  opera  she  achieved  particular  distinction. 
When  Mr.  Dippel  visited  Europe  to  engage 
singers  for  Chicago,  Alice  Zepilli  was  one  of  the 
first  to  sign  for  the  season  of  1910-1911. 

Madame  Saltzman-Stevens,  who  became  a 
member  of  the  Chicago  Company,  is  a  native  of 
Bloomington,  111.  Her  father  was  a  Frenchman 
naturalized  in  this  country,  and  her  mother  a 
German.  She  was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of 
five,  and  her  father  dying  when  she  was  a  child 
she  had  practically  no  musical  advantages  in 
early  life.  She  was  fond  of  music  and  sang  as 
contralto  in  church,  but  her  opportunity  for 
musical  study  came  after  she  married  Mr.  Ste- 
vens, a  pharmacist  of  Bloomington,  who  wished 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  gratify  her  ambitions. 
Accordingly,  she  went  abroad  to  study  with 
Konig  in  Paris,  previous  to  which  time  she  had 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  431 

been  to  the  opera  only  thrice  in  her  life,  during 
a  visit  to  Chicago.  On  one  of  these  occasions 
she  heard  Nordica  in  "  Die  Walkiire. " 

On  arriving  in  Paris  she  found  that  Konig 
was  dead,  but  learned  that  Jean  de  Reszke  was 
teaching.  She  accordingly  sought  him,  and  he 
told  her  that  she  was  a  dramatic  soprano.  This 
was  in  1905.  In  due  course  Madame  Stevens 
went  to  London  and  sang  for  Hans  Richter,  who 
engaged  her  for  the  following  winter,  when  she 
appeared  at  Co  vent  Garden  in  "  The  Ring." 
Up  to  this  time  she  had  never  sung  with  an 
orchestra.  Engagements  followed  at  Lisbon 
and  at  Berlin,  and  a  German  critic  wrote  of  her 
that  she  was  the  most  ideal  Brunnhilde  that 
had  ever  appeared  on  the  German  stage.  Her 
voice  is  a  perfect  organ  without  a  register,  for 
every  tone  is  equally  beautiful  and  strong. 
She  is  of  medium  height,  not  stout,  and  by  no 
means  the  figure  one  would  expect  for  a 
Brunnhilde. 

During  the  season  of  1911-1912  Madame  Saltz- 
man-Stevens  became  a  member  of  the  Philadel- 
phia-Chicago Company,  making  her  debut  in 
Chicago  as  Brunnhilde  in  "  Die  Walkiire  "  on 
December  21,  1911,  and  in  Philadelphia,  a  few 
weeks  later?  as  Isolde.  On  both  occasions  she 


432  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

was  cordially  received  and  was  considered  to 
have  made  an  emphatic  success. 

Miss  Maggie  Teyte,  who  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  during 
two  seasons,  is  described  as  a  somewhat  unusual 
and  distinctly  charming  little  person.  Miss 
Teyte,  whose  name  was  originally  Tate,  is  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  went  to  Paris  to  study 
singing  under  Jean  de  Reszke.  It  was  in  Paris 
that  her  name  was  changed,  in  order  that  the 
Parisians  might  give  it  the  proper  pronuncia- 
tion. After  five  years'  study  with  de  Reszke 
Miss  Teyte  appeared  in  Paris  as  Melisande. 
Comparisons  between  Miss  Teyte  and  Miss 
Garden  naturally  followed.  One  account  runs 
thus,  — ' '  Whereas  Maggie  Teyte  seems  a 
younger  Melisande  because  she  is  small  and 
slight  with  a  voice  that  is  unquestionably  more 
pleasing,  being  a  dramatic  soprano  of  surpri- 
sing warmth  and  carrying  power  considering 
her  physical  limitation,  Miss  Garden's  way  of 
dressing  is,  to  most  people,  more  successful. 
Miss  Teyte 's  interpretation  is  simpler,  but  be- 
cause it  is  less  dramatic  has  neither  the  grace 
nor  mystic  allure  of  Miss  Garden's.  In  short, 
while  Miss  Teyte  is  an  altogether  lovely  Meli- 
sande with  a  really  charming  voice,  she  is  not, 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

MAGGIE   TEYTE   AS   CINDERELLA    IN    "  CENDRILLON 


The  Chicago -Philadelphia  Company  433 

and  it  is  doubtful  if  she  ever  will  become,  the 
intelligent  and  convincing  artist  that  Mary 
Garden  is  and  has  been  from  the  beginning." 

In  America  Miss  Teyte  did  not  appear  as 
Melisande,  a  part  which  Miss  Garden  has  jeal- 
ously guarded  as  her  own,but  she  made  a  charm- 
ing Cinderella,  and  has  been  pleasing  in  all 
her  roles.  She  is  considered  an  excellent  inter- 
preter of  Debussy  and  other  modern  French 
composers.  She  made  her  debut  at  Monte  Carlo 
in  1906,  when  seventeen  years  of  age. 

Lillian  Grenville,  who  was  one  of  the  sopranos 
engaged  by  Dippel  for  the  first  season  of  the 
Chicago-Philadelphia  Opera  Company,  was  born 
in  Canada,  and  received  her  early  training  in 
the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  Montreal. 
Her  voice  being  considered  worth  cultivating 
she  went  to  New  York  and  took  lessons,  at  the 
same  time  holding  a  choir  position.  Then  she 
went  abroad  to  study,  and  made  her  debut  at 
Nice  in  February,  1906,  as  Juliette.  She  se- 
cured a  contract  for  three  years,  during  which 
she  was  selected  by  Puccini  to  create  the  title 
role  in  his  "  Manon  Lescaut. "  On  the  com- 
pletion of  her  engagement  at  Nice  she  appeared 
at  La  Monnaie  in  Brussels,  the  Lyric  in  Mi- 
lan, the  San  Carlo  at  Naples,  the  Carlo  Felici 


434  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

at  Genoa,  and  the  San  Carlo  in  Lisbon.  Her 
favorite  roles  are  Manon,  Thais,  Tosca,  and 
Ophelia.  During  her  engagement  at  Nice  she 
appeared  in  the  original  production  of  "  Quo 
Vadis." 

Jennie  Dufau,  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Com- 
pany, is  a  lyric  soprano,  with  a  voice  not  large 
but  of  pleasing  quality,  though  her  high  tones 
are  thin.  She  uses  it  with  much  technical  skill 
and  excels  in  such  parts  as  Lakme,  for  which 
also  her  physical  daintiness  qualifies  her.  She 
was  considered  the  most  brilliant  coloratura 
singer  of  the  company  except  Tetrazzini. 

Georgia  Cavan  is  one  of  the  younger  Amer- 
ican singers  of  the  company,  who  takes  small 
parts.  She  has  studied  in  Salzburg  with  Ma- 
dame Ternina.  Mabel  Riegelmann  also  takes 
small  parts,  Marguerite  Starrell  and  Minnie 
Egner  are  also  mentioned  as  younger  members 
of  the  company,  who  are  making  the  most  of 
their  opportunities. 

Louise  Berat  is  also  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  accounts  of  Chicago  operatic  perform- 
ances. She  has  a  contralto  voice  of  excellent 
quality. 

When  Mr.  Dippel  produced  "  Die  Walkiire  ' 
in  Chicago  in  December,   1911,  a  portion  of 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  435 

one  of  the  reviews  read  as  follows,  —  "  Marta 
Wittkowska 's  splendid  sonorous  tones  as  Wal- 
traute  echoed  from  the  mountain  heights  soar- 
ing superior  to  the  sea  of  sound  in  the  or- 
chestra." 

Marta  Wittkowska,  the  possessor  of  this  re- 
markably described  voice,  was  born  in  Poland, 
and  brought  by  her  parents  to  America  when 
she  was  a  young  child.  The  family  settled  in 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  it 
was  discovered  that  the  young  girl  had  a  very 
promising  voice.  Her  parents  were  poor  and 
unable  to  give  her  a  musical  education,  but  a 
scholarship  was  awarded  her  by  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity and  she  entered  as  a  special  student  in 
the  vocal  department. 

Miss  Wittkowska  remained  at  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity for  two  years,  taking  full  advantage  of 
her  opportunities  and  then,  Madame  Schumann- 
Heink  visiting  Syracuse  to  sing  at  a  concert, 
Marta  Wittkowska  called  upon  her  and  asked 
permission  to  sing  for  her.  Madame  Schumann- 
Heink  declared  that  her  voice  was  one  of  the 
most  promising  she  had  ever  heard,  and 
strongly  urged  her  to  go  to  Germany  and  take 
up  the  study  of  Wagnerian  operas. 

Tins  course  was  not  possible  at  that  time  but 


436  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Miss  Wittkowska  went  to  New  York  and  stud- 
ied under  Miss  Emma  Thursby.  After  a  year 
of  study  she  was  sent  abroad  by  a  lady  who  was 
interested  in  her,  and  she  studied  under  the 
venerable  Cotogni.  At  the  end  of  six  months 
she  made  her  debut  at  Perugia  as  the  Mother 
in  "La  Gioconda."  Other  engagements  fol- 
lowed, and  she  sang  such  roles  as  Azucena,  Am- 
neris,  Dalila,  etc.  She  also  went  to  Paris  to 
study  French  roles.  While  singing  at  Covent 
Garden  Andreas  Dippel  heard  her,  and  Miss 
Wittkowska  was  secured  for  the  Chicago-Phila- 
delphia Opera  Company,  of  which  she  has  been 
one  of  the  most  popular  members. 

George  Hamlin,  who  already  had  an  inter- 
national reputation  as  a  concert  and  oratorio 
singer,  became  a  member  of  the  Chicago-Phil- 
adelphia Company  in  the  season  of  1911-1912, 
having  been  asked  by  Mr.  Dippel  to  sing  the 
leading  role  in  "  Natoma,"  an  America  opera, 
on  an  American  subject,  to  be  sung  by  Amer- 
ican singers. 

Mr.  Hamlin  is  a  native  of  Chicago,  and  as  a 
young  man  developed  a  good  voice  and  attracted 
attention  as  an  amateur.  He  was  expecting  a 
business  career,  but  being  invited  to  sing  as  solo- 
ist in  a  production  of  the  ' '  Hymn  of  Praise  ' '  at 


Photograph  by  —  MATZENE  —  Chicago 

MARTA   WITTKOWSKA   AS   AMNERIS   IN    "  AIDA 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Gompany  437 

St.  Louis,  and  making  a  distinct  success,  he  de- 
cided upon  music  for  his  profession.  He  insti- 
tuted Sunday  afternoon  concerts  in  Chicago,  a 
plan  which  has  become  popular. 

Mr.  Hamlin  has  appeared  repeatedly  as  a  con- 
cert singer  with  nearly  all  the  leading  musical 
organizations  in  America,  and  has  had  many 
similar  engagements  in  Germany,  besides  giving 
many  song  recitals. 

Grand  opera  is  an  entirely  different  field,  and 
leads  to  criticism  from  a  different  point  of  view, 
but  Mr.  Hamlin  stood  the  ordeal.  "  Mr.  Ham- 
lin's  voice,"  wrote  a  critic  after  the  Philadel- 
phia debut,  "  has  much  to  commend  it  in  the 
way  of  smoothness  and  sympathy,  and  he  sings 
with  taste  and  skill,  while  he  also  carried  him- 
self well,  put  real  feeling  into  his  acting,  and 
altogether  made  a  highly  favorable  impression. 
His  enunciation  was  noticeably  clear  and  dis- 
tinct." 

Gustav  Huberdeau,  the  French  basso-can- 
tante,  joined  the  Manhattan  forces  in  1908,  and 
was  transferred  to  the  Chicago-Philadelphia 
Company  when  Oscar  Hammerstein  went  out  of 
business.  As  a  boy  Huberdeau  made  a  study  of 
the  violin  and  theory  of  music,  and  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  entered  the  Paris  Conservatoire, 


438  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

where  he  carried  off  the  chief  prizes.  At  the 
Conservatoire  he  studied  singing  and  at  the 
completion  of  his  course  was  engaged  by  Carre 
for  the  Opera  Comique.  Here  he  remained  for 
ten  years,  from  1898  to  1908,  creating  the  prin- 
cipal bass  roles  in  every  new  production.  Hu- 
berdeau  is  an  excellent  singer  and  an  intelli- 
gent actor,  and  has  proved  himself  a  valuable 
member  of  these  opera  companies. 

Amadeo  Bassi,  the  tenor,  one  of  the  most 
popular  members  of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia 
Company,  has  an  enormous  repertoire,  and  an 
impressive  style  of  acting.  He  began  his  musi- 
cal career  early,  for  as  a  boy  he  had  a  remark- 
able voice,  which  as  he  matured  developed  into 
a  lyric  tenor.  He  was  trained  by  the  best 
teachers  and  made  his  debut  as  the  Duke  in 
"  Rigoletto  "  before  he  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  at  the  Arena  Nazionale  in  Florence.  He 
has  sung  in  many  opera-houses  and  was  well 
known  in  Italy,  Spain,  Russia,  on  the  Riviera 
and  in  South  America  before  he  came  to  the 
United  States. 

Edmund  Warnery  is  a  French  tenor  and  a 
personal  friend  of  M.  Debussy,  by  whom  he  has 
been  coached  in  most  of  his  different  roles.  He 
created  the  role  of  Pelleas  at  the  production 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  439 

in  Covent  Garden,  London,  of  "  Pelleas  et  Me- 
lisande  ' '  and  was  the  first  to  appear  in  that  part 
in  Chicago.  Mr.  Dippel  engaged  him  while  he 
was  forming  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Com- 
pany, and  he  has  remained  with  the  company 
through  its  two  seasons. 

In  order  to  note  the  progress  made  by  the 
Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  it  will  be  well 
to  quote  from  the  review  of  the  second  season 
published  in  the  Dial  in  February,  1912 : 

"  The  public  spirited  citizens  whose  faith 
and  enterprise  made  possible  the  existence  of 
the  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Company  have  excel- 
lent reasons  for  congratulating  themselves  and 
all  others  concerned  in  the  undertaking.  The 
second  season  of  the  organization  ended  on  the 
first  of  this  month,  and  the  receipts  for  the  ten 
weeks  have  come  close  to  meeting  expenses. 
Last  year's  balance  sheet  showed  a  deficit  of  ap- 
proximately twenty  per  cent,  which  came  out  of 
the  pockets  of  the  guarantors;  this  year  they 
have  had  to  pay  practically  nothing  for  their 
disinterested  endeavor  to  do  the  public  an  im- 
portant artistic  service. 

"  The  reasons  for  this  satisfactory  measure 
of  financial  success  in  what  seemed  at  the  out- 
set a  precarious  venture  are  numerous  and 


440  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

varied.  The  competent  direction  of  Mr.  An- 
dreas Dippel  accounts  for  much  of  it ;  much  also 
must  be  credited  to  the  artists  whom  he  enlisted 
in  the  enterprise.  The  superb  musicianship  of 
Signer  Cleofonte  Campanini  is  responsible  for 
a  great  deal,  for  in  such  matters  as  balance  of 
tone  and  unity  of  effect  the  artistic  results 
which  he  achieved  were  maintained  at  a  high 
level  of  excellence,  and,  at  their  best,  were  al- 
most beyond  praise.  A  word  should  also  be  said 
for  Mr.  Alfred  Szendrei,  who  conducted  a  few 
German  works,  and  whose  readings  were  of 
exceptional  beauty.  Among  the  principals  Miss 
'Mary  Garden  was  the  popular  favorite.  In  the 
chorus  we  had  a  collection  of  fresh  young  voices 
of  a  quality  to  which  our  operatic  stage  has  not 
been  accustomed,  admirably  trained  to  sing  in 
three  languages  which  the  standard  repertory 
demands.  .  .  .  Mr.  Dippel  has  been  highly  suc- 
cessful in  guessing  what  the  public  wants.  He 
has  given  us  twenty-four  works  in  seventy- 
eight  performances,  *  Carmen,'  *  Cendrillon,' 
and  *  I  Giojelli  della  Madonna  '  heading  the 
list  with  six  performances  each.  Eight  other 
works  have  been  given  four  or  five  times  each. 
Thirty-six  of  the  performances  have  been  in 
French,  twenty  in  Italian,  and  the  others  in 


The  Chicago -Fnilacielphia  Company  441 

German  or  English.  .  .  .  One  novelty  —  the 
'  Quo  Vadis  ?  '  of  M.  Nougues  —  produced  at 
great  cost,  failed  to  attract  audiences  large 
enough  to  make  it  worth  while,  and  was  with- 
drawn after  four  attempts  to  make  it  go.  Among 
the  Italian  productions,  the  most  noteworthy 
were  those  that  gave  Chicago  its  first  hearing 
of  Signer  Wolf -Ferrari's  *  II  Segreto  di  Su- 
sanna '  and  '  I  Giojelli  della  Madonna.'  The 
former,  a  delightful  short  work  of  almost  Mo- 
zartian  inspiration,  won  the  hearts  of  all  its 
hearers ;  the  latter,  which  was  given  its  first 
American  production,  was  distinguished  by  the 
presence  of  the  composer,  who  had  come  to 
America  for  the  occasion  of  this  premiere  per- 
formance. 

"  The  ill-judged  propaganda  which  has  been 
conducted  of  late  by  the  zealous  but  mistaken 
persons  who  think  that  all  opera  should  be  sung 
in  the  English  language  for  English-speaking 
audiences  drove  an  entering  wedge  into  the 
work  of  the  Chicago  season.  Mr.  Herbert's 
*  Natoma  '  was,  as  of  course  it  should  be,  sung 
in  English,  that  being  the  language  for  which 
the  music  was  written.  But  '  Hansel  und 
Gretel  '  is  a  different  matter,  and  the  best  that 
can  be  said  of  the  artistic  perversion  to  which 


442  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

it  was  subjected  is  that  the  audiences  hardly 
realized  that  they  were  listening  to  English 
words,  and  could  understand  only  a  small  frac- 
tion of  them. 

"  Last  year  not  a  single  German  work  was 
given  during  the  ten  weeks ;  this  year  we  have 
had  eleven  performances  of  '  Lohengrin,' 
'  Die  Walkiire,'  and  '  Tristan  und  Isolde,' 
five  of  l  Hansel  und  Gretel,'  and  two  of  *  Le 
Nozze  di  Figaro.'  This  is  something,  but  not 
nearly  enough." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  record  the  Philadelphia 
season,  as  it  was  given  by  the  same  company 
at  the  close  of  the  Chicago  season. 

An  interesting  summary  of  the  Chicago  sea- 
son, and  a  comparison  with  the  doings  of  New 
York  and  Boston  was  made  by  the  Chicago  rep- 
resentative of  Musical  America,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  A  painstaking  statistician,  in  view  of  the 
departure  of  the  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Com- 
pany for  other  fields,  presents  a  tabulation  of 
facts,  indicating  the  popular  taste  of  to-day.  In 
considering  the  repertoire  of  the  three  large 
opera  companies,  those  of  New  York,  Boston 
and  Chicago,  it  is  observed  that  German  opera 
has  been  the  most  largely  represented  in  New 


The  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company  443 

York,  while  French  opera  has  been  the  predomi- 
nant school  of  Chicago.  Chicago  has  produced 
four  times  as  many  new  works  as  New  York  and 
five  more  than  Boston.  Forty  different  operas 
have  been  produced  this  season  by  the  three 
companies  named;  seventeen  were  Italian;  ten 
German;  eleven  French  and  two  English.  The 
local  opera  company  during  its  stay  was  repre- 
sented by  seventeen  different  composers  against 
twelve  who  contributed  to  the  Metropolitan  rep- 
ertoire or  eight  heard  in  Boston." 

Mr.  Dippel's  activities  did  not  end  with  Chi- 
cago and  Philadelphia,  for  his  company  gave 
performances  in  New  York  and  Baltimore,  and 
visited  many  of  the  cities  between  Chicago  and 
the  Pacific  coast,  the  nearer  cities  during  the 
season,  and  the  distant  ones  during  the  early 
spring.  There  appears  to  be  ample  opportu- 
nity for  the  Chicago  Opera  Company. 


CHAPTER   VII 

CONCLUSION 

ONE  of  the  most  promising  features  of  the 
past  three  years  has  been  the  tendency  to  bring 
forward  young  American  singers,  and  give  them 
an  opportunity  in  their  native  land.  With  the 
growth  of  opera  and  the  establishment  of  more 
opera-houses  the  opportunities  will  be  greater. 
It  is,  and  will  be,  still  more  impossible  that  all 
the  singers  employed  shall  be  high  priced 
"  stars  "  with  the,  formerly  considered  indis- 
pensable, "  foreign  reputation."  We  have  be- 
fore us  several  noteworthy  instances  of  singers 
who  have  * '  made  good  ' '  in  grand  opera  without 
any  European  training  or  experience,  some  of 
them  now  taking  leading  roles.  Marie  Eappold, 
and  Alma  Gluck  in  New  York,  Bernice  Fisher, 
and  Jeska  Swartz  in  Boston,  and  there  are  some 
in  Chicago.  Those  who  have  had  some  experi- 
ence abroad  and  have  found  places  in  America 
are  very  numerous,  we  can  cite  a  few  only,  — 

444 


Conclusion  445 


Carolina  White,  Marta  Wittkowska,  Jane  Os- 
born-Hannah,  etc.,  in  Chicago;  Edward  Lan- 
kow,  Putnam  Griswold,  Clarence  Whitehill, 
Eleanora  de  Cisneros,  Bernice  de  Pasquali  and 
very  many  more,  —  the  names  are  quoted  from 
memory  only. 

We  have,  for  many  years,  had  American 
singers  in  our  grand  opera  companies,  but  in 
the  past  few  years  they  appear  to  be  the  rule 
rather  than  the  exception,  although  they  fre- 
quently appear  under  foreign  names. 

The  way  of  the  singer  is  not  easy.  European 
cities  are  swarmed  with  American  operatic  as- 
pirants of  whom  comparatively  few  ever  reach 
a  hearing. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  America  our  singers 
may  at  least  have  as  good  opportunities  for 
failure,  as  well  as  success,  in  their  native  land, 
and  with  less  risk ;  that  the  public  should  more 
and  more  be  willing  to  hear  those  who  are 
judged  to  have  good  promise,  even  if  they  have 
not  the  "  European  reputation."  In  short, 
that  the  singers  should  be  allowed  to  make  their 
reputation,  in  their  native  land.  This  can  be 
done  if  audiences  are  sufficiently  cultured  to 
judge  singers  by  their  merits. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  this  book  we 


446  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

cannot  give  some  account  of  the  many  Ameri- 
can singers  who  are  succeeding  in  Europe  but 
have  not,  as  yet,  been  engaged  in  the  Grand 
Opera  enterprises  of  the  greater  American 
cities.  Gertrude  Rennyson,  for  instance,  a  na- 
tive of  Morristown,  Pa.,  has  had  an  excellent 
operatic  career  in  Europe  and  has  had  the  honor 
of  singing  at  Bayreuth.  Marcella  Craft,  from 
Indianapolis,  who  was  well  known  some  years 
ago  as  a  church  singer  in  Boston,  is  enjoying 
a  successful  career  in  Europe.  Alys  Lorraine, 
after  a  successful  career  in  Holland,  has  made 
her  debut  in  Paris.  Vernon  Stiles  secured  a  five 
years'  engagement  at  Vienna,  and  William  Pi- 
caver,  from  Albany,  N.  Y.,  sang  for  five  years  at 
Prague  and  then  went  to  the  Royal  Vienna 
Opera.  .  .  .  But  an  account  of  all  these  rising 
artists  would  increase  the  book  indefinitely. 

It  has  been  the  desire  of  the  writer  to  show 
the  development  of  Grand  Opera  in  America 
during  the  past  decade.  Not  only  has  New  York 
been  stirred  up  to  its  best  efforts  by  the  com- 
petition between  the  Metropolitan  and  the  Man- 
hattan Opera-Houses,  but  the  excitement  has 
spread  to  other  cities,  and  opera  on  a  more  or 
less  permanent  basis  is  likely  to  be  established 
in  many  centres  during  the  next  few  years. 


Conclusion  447 


The  artistic  standard  is  not  likely  to  lapse 
through  lack  of  competition,  because,  in  the  first 
place,  it  has  been  pushed  up  to  a  certain  point, 
and  a  retrograde  movement  would  kill  ope- 
ratic enterprise  in  any  city  attempting  it ;  also 
the  competition  between  cities  is  sufficient  to 
keep  up  the  artistic  standard. 

The  greater  companies  have  carried  grand 
opera  to  many  of  the  large  cities,  and  their 
work  has  been  supplemented  by  smaller  organ- 
izations which  visit  cities  and  towns  not  yet 
able  to  attract  the  great  companies. 

The  Metropolitan  Company  has  made  trips 
as  far  south  as  Atlanta,  after  its  own  season. 
The  Chicago  Company  has  gone  as  far  as  the 
Pacific  coast.  Then,  if  we  watch  the  musical 
journals,  we  find  accounts  of  such  companies  as 
the  Lombardi  Company  and  the  Le  Brun  Com- 
pany, which  have  travelled  much,  in  the  west 
and  southwest.  Then  there  are  such  companies 
as  those  of  Henry  M.  Savage,  giving  opera  in 
English.  Mr.  Savage 's  companies  are  generally 
devoted  to  a  less  ambitious  class  of  opera,  but 
some  years  ago  he  had  an  excellent  company 
giving  grand  opera  in  English.  He  gave  a 
capital  production  of  "  Parsifal,"  which  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  these  pages.  In  his 


448  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Grand  Opera  Company  Mr.  Savage  employed 
many  singers  who  have  since  become  famous, 
and  if  his  performances  could  not  be  classed 
with  those  of  the  Metropolitan,  they  did  a  great 
deal  towards  educating  the  public  in  Grand 
Opera.  The  writer  quite  agrees  with  those  who 
consider  that  opera  sung  in  any  language  than 
that  for  which  it  was  written  is  an  artistic 
abomination.  But  the  main  point  is  this, — 
there  are  many  thousands  of  people  who  are 
repelled  by  the  idea  of  listening  to  what  they 
cannot  understand.  Give  them  opera  in  Eng- 
lish and  they  will  enjoy  it.  When  they  find 
that  it  is  just  as  unintelligible  in  English  as  in 
any  other  language,  they  will  learn  to  appre- 
ciate the  more  artistic  presentation  of  opera 
in  its  own  language.  Opera  in  English  appeals 
to  a  very  large  public  of  moderate  means  and 
education,  and  should  be  encouraged  as  a  means 
to  an  end. 

Since  the  days  of  Mapleson,  Grau,  etc.,  a 
marked  change  has  come  over  the  operatic 
chorus.  The  chorus  singer  is  no  longer  an  Ital- 
ian brigand  hibernating  in  America  and  re- 
turning in  the  spring  to  his  regular  business,  — 
as  he  was  described  in  Mapleson  *s  time.  The 
chorus  of  to-day  consists  of  fresh  young  voices 


Conclusion  449 


of  operatic  aspirants  trained  in  this  country, 
though  in  most  houses  there  is  a  background 
of  European  routine  chorus  singers. 

The  result  is  gratifying  both  as  to  the  qual- 
ity of  tone  produced  and  the  personal  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  chorus.  Hardly  an  account  of 
the  production  of  "  Parsifal,"  for  instance, 
failed  to  expatiate  upon  the  beauty  of  the  flower 
maidens,  both  vocal  and  physical. 

In  the  orchestra  a  corresponding  improve- 
ment has  been  accomplished.  More  first-rate 
musicians  have  been  employed,  and  the  size  of 
the  orchestra  has  been  increased.  But  the  most 
important  innovation  was  the  artist  conductor. 
If  we  hark  back  to  Maretsheck's  account  of  the 
opera  orchestra  as  he  found  it,  when  the  con- 
ductor used  to  play  first  violin  during  the  most 
strenuous  moments,  to  the  conductor  of  to-day, 
who  is  an  artist  in  his  line,  the  difference  is 
astonishing.  This  change  began  definitely  when 
Anton  Seidl  was  brought  over  to  conduct  Ger- 
man opera,  and  it  has  continued  ever  since.  To- 
day with  Hertz,  and  Toscanini  in  New  York, 
Cleofonte  Campanini  in  Chicago,  Caplet  in  Bos- 
ton, we  have  a  most  efficient  corps  of  conductors. 

The  "  guest  "  conductor  seems  likely  to  flour- 
ish in  the  near  future.  The  performances  in 


450  The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Boston  given  under  the  baton  of  Felix  Wein- 
gartner  were  of  such  excellence  that  others  are 
sure  to  follow.  But  they  will  be  impossible  ex- 
cept with  a  thoroughly  well-trained  orchestra 
capable  of  receiving  at  once  the  artistic  impres- 
sions of  the  visiting  conductor,  so  that  a  triumph 
for  a  visiting  conductor  is  really  no  less  a  tri- 
umph for  the  regular  conductor  who  has  trained 
the  orchestra. 

Another  important  step  in  advance  has  been 
the  growing  importance  of  the  composer  and  the 
work.  In  former  days  the  prima  donna  and  the 
tenor  were  the  "  whole  show.'*  To-day  the  at- 
tention of  the  public  is  focussed  more  particu- 
larly upon  the  work  and  its  composer,  while 
the  singer  is  regarded  more  as  a  medium 
through  which  the  artistic  impression  is  to  be 
received.  There  is  good  reason  for  this.  The 
opera  of  to-day  is  not  a  string  of  show  pieces 
for  the  principals,  with  the  chorus  brought  in 
occasionally  without  rhyme  or  reason.  We  have 
now  the  "  music-drama,"  and  the  works  of 
modern  composers  cannot  be  judged  by  the 
old  standards.  In  many  of  them,  especially 
those  of  Eichard  Strauss  and  Debussy,  the 
brunt  of  the  work  falls  upon  the  orchestra,  and 
the  voices  are  considered  of  small  account, 


Conclusion  451 


though  the  acting  is  immensely  important.  All 
this  does  not  diminish  the  actual  value  of  the 
prima  donna,  though  it  may  have  some  effect 
upon  her  relative  importance.  But  in  order  to 
succeed  in  the  modern  music  drama  she  must 
have  qualities  not  formerly  necessary.  The 
artistic  value  of  the  work  as  a  whole  far  exceeds 
the  importance  of  any  one  person  taking  part 
in  it.  Opera  is  becoming  a  psychological  prob- 
lem. 

In  concluding,  let  us  quote  from  Shaler's 
' '  Individual  " :  ' '  Thirty  centuries  have  given 
little  or  nothing  of  gain  in  the  way  of  speech, 
written  or  spoken,  for  in  such  work  no  man  has 
done  better  than  he  who  wrote  the  story  of 
Job.  In  gesture  and  the  related  sculpture  we 
tell  less  than  the  masters  of  old;  in  painting 
hardly  more.  In  music  alone  has  the  last  thou- 
sand years  helped  men  to  express  themselves. 
There  indeed,  is  a  most  substantial  gain,  one 
in  which  the  possibilities  are  as  yet  by  no  means 
exhausted.  Something  of  further  advance  may 
be  won  in  this  endeavor  to  convey  a  knowledge 
of  our  feelings  in  the  remoter  experiences  of  the 
mind  through  the  statement  of  scientific  con- 
cepts." 


PART   II 

GRAND   OPERA   SINGERS 
1912-1922 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    METROPOLITAN    OPEBA   COMPANY 

1912-1922 

DURING  these  ten  years  the  only  Opera  Com- 
pany, in  the  United  States,  which  has  gone  on 
without  interruption  is  the  Metropolitan  Com- 
pany of  New  York.  Even  the  great  war  did  not 
materially  affect  it. 

During  the  seasons  of  1912-13,  and  1913-14, 
the  Boston  Opera  flourished  and  introduced 
some  noteworthy  singers  to  the  American  pub- 
lic, such  as  Louise  Edvina,  Muratore,  and 
Ferrari-Fontana.  But  these  joined  other  com- 
panies later,  and  are  best  recorded  in  their 
places  with  the  Metropolitan  or  Chicago  com- 
panies. The  Boston  company  ceased  to  exist 
in  1914,  and  from  that  date  Boston  has  been 
eliminated  as  an  operatic  centre. 

In  the  short  space  allotted  to  these  ten  years 
it  is  impossible  to  deal  at  length  with  any  but 
the  most  noted  singers.  There  have  been  many 
American  singers  of  ability  who  have  come  be- 

455 


456       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

fore  the  public  with  more  or  less  success.  In 
these  latter  days  they  have  had  opportunities 
which  were,  in  former  years,  denied  them. 
They  have  gained  admission  to  the  great  com- 
panies, sometimes  after  having  had  experience 
in  the  minor  companies,  and  have  had  to 
await  their  opportunity.  Some  have  suc- 
ceeded. Others  have  made  only  moderate  suc- 
cess, and  some  have  failed.  Many  of  the  im- 
ported singers  also  have  failed.  Of  one  tenor 
a  critic  writes,  "he  should  be  reserved  for  mati- 
nees attended  by  inquisitive  children.'*  Of 
another  we  find, — "he  led  the  hearer  to  wonder 
why  the  Metropolitan  Company  had  engaged 
him."  The  singers  who  get  the  best  start  do 
not  always  make  the  best  finish. 

A  tenor,  in  order  to  be  a  real  success,  must 
possess  almost  superhuman  qualities,  otherwise 
he  is  frequently  an  object  of  scorn. 

The  most  noteworthy  addition  to  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  Company  in  1912  was  Frieda 
Hempel,  who  had  been  for  the  preceding  five 
years  principal  coloratura  soprano  at  the  Royal 
Opera  in  Berlin.  Miss  Hempel  is  a  native  of 
Leipzig,  and  took  her  first  music  lessons  at  the 
Conservatory  in  that  city.  From  the  age  of  ten 
to  fifteen  she  studied  the  piano,  which  was  to 


FRIEDA    HEMPEL 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     457 

be  her  chosen  life  work.  As  she  grew  up  her 
voice  was  discovered,  and  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen she  entered  the  Stern  Conservatory  in 
Berlin  under  the  instruction  of  Frau  Niklass- 
Kemper.  At  the  end  of  three  years  she  was 
heard  by  Count  Hiilson,  the  intendant  of  the 
Royal  Opera  in  Berlin,  at  a  pupils'  concert. 
He  offered  her  an  engagement  on  condition 
that  she  would  acquire  stage  training  at  one  of 
the  lesser  theatres.  She  signed  a  five  years* 
contract  with  the  Court  Opera  at  Schwerin. 
Here  she  achieved  success  and  essayed  a  wide 
variety  of  roles.  After  eight  months  of  ex- 
perience she  was  invited  by  Frau  Cosima  Wag- 
ner to  assist  at  Bayreuth,  and  later  she  sang  a 
Mozart  cycle  at  Munich  with  pronounced  dis- 
tinction. 

In  1907  the  Kaiser  heard  her  in  a  court  con- 
cert, and  at  his  desire  she  was  released  from  the 
Schwerin  contract  to  join  the  Royal  Opera  in 
Berlin,  where,  on  August  20  she  made  her  debut 
as  the  Queen  in '  *  Les  Huguenots. ' '  Three  days 
later  she  appeared  as  Mrs.  Page  in  "The  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor." 

During  the  eight  years  of  her  stage  experi- 
ence, previous  to  her  arrival  in  America,  Miss 
Hempel  had  acquired  a  repertoire  of  forty-five 


458       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

roles,  comprising  not  only  coloratura  parts,  but 
many  others  also.  She  had  sung  in  Munich 
and  the  chief  cities  of  Austria,  Belgium,  France 
and  Hungary,  besides  Schwerin  and  Berlin. 

Thus  fortified  she  appeared  before  a  great 
audience  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House  on 
December  27,  1912,  as  the  Queen  in  "Les 
Huguenots."  Having  suffered  from  illness, 
which  delayed  her  start  from  Germany,  and  then 
a  rough  voyage,  it  was  to  be  assumed  that  she 
would  not  be  at  her  best  on  that  night,  yet  we 
are  told  that  "  before  the  second  act  was  half 
over  it  was  clear  that  Frieda  Hempel  was  the 
object  of  interest.  The  whole  house  broke  into 
a  whirlwind  of  applause  after  she  had  sung 
the  first  florid  phrases  of  Marguerite  de  Va- 
lois's  initial  air.  She  was  recalled  ten  times, 
after  the  curtain  fell,  while  the  ushers  unloaded 
basketfuls  of  flowers  at  her  feet." 

'She  had  "made  good"  with  the  audience. 
Now  as  to  the  critics: 

"Purity,  freshness,  flexibility,  an  extensive 
upward  range  and  much  brilliancy  of  colo- 
ratura execution  were  the  features  disclosed 
most  prominently  in  her  singing.  Her  voice  is 
not  large,  but  it  is  well  produced,  breath  supply 
abundant,  and  her  phrasing  bespeaks  unusual 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     459 

taste.  Her  staccati  were  crisp  and  glittering, 
her  trill  remarkable  for  evenness.  It  is  not  a 
voice  remarkable  for  warmth,  nor  for  a  wide 
variety  of  color.  The  upper  tones  are  inclined 
to  thinness,  the  medium  tones  have  body  and 
smoothness,  but  the  lower  register  lacks  both 
color  and  resonance.  All  things  considered  she 
is  an  artist  with  a  pure  style  and  without  any 
apparent  inclination  to  stoop  to  any  of  the  mere- 
tricious devices  to  which  coloratura  singers 
are  prone  to  resort.  She  has  a  graceful  and 
pleasing  stage  presence." 

At  her  Boston  debut,  Jan.  20,  1913,  we  find : 

1 '  She  appears  to  be  an  artist  of  a  school  now 
almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  her  art  holds 
a  nearer  relation  to  that  of  Sembrich  than  to 
any  other  singer  known  to  the  American  public. 
She  is  mistress  of  the  fine  old  manner." 

The  most  grudging  criticism  admits  that  she 
is  an  admirable  artist,  though  not  superior  to 
the  world-famed  coloratura  singers  who  have 
preceded  her  at  the  Metropolitan. 

Miss  Hempel  has  remained  before  the  public 
with  undiminished  popularity  to  the  present 
day  (1922).  In  1918  she  married  William  B. 
Kahn,  of  New  York. 

Lucrezia  Bori,  who  made  her  debut  at  the 


460       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Metropolitan  Opera  House  on  November  11, 
1912,  in  "Manon  Lescaut,"  is  a  native  of  Va- 
lencia, Spain,  daughter  of  Colonel  Borga  of  the 
Spanish  army.  Owing  to  social  prejudices  her 
parents  did  not  wish  her  to  study  for  the  stage, 
but  she  succeeded  in  overcoming  their  objec- 
tions and  went  to  Milan  where  she  studied  un- 
der Melchior  Vidal,  a  Spaniard,  and  soon  after 
made  her  debut  at  the  Teatro  Adriano  in  Rome 
as  Micaela  in  "Carmen."  Although  only 
eighteen  years  of  age  her  success  was  pro- 
nounced, and  she  got  engagements  in  other 
Italian  cities. 

When  the  Metropolitan  Company  gave  a  sea- 
son in  Paris,  in  1910,  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza  chose 
Miss  Bori  to  sing  Manon  with  Caruso  and 
Amato,  and  he  engaged  her  for  the  New  York 
season  of  1912-13.  Meanwhile  she  became  a 
member  of  La  Scala,  at  Milan,  where  she 
created  the  title  role  in  Strauss 's  "Rosenka- 
valier"  and  the  Goose  Girl  in  "Konigskinder. " 
During  the  summer  of  1912  she  sang  in  Buenos 
Ayres. 

When  she  appeared  in  New  York  the  critics 
declared  that  "she  is  a  notable  artist  now  and 
will  develop  into  a  greater  one.  In  face,  his- 
trionic skill,  and  vocal  timbre  she  is  strikingly 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     461 

suggestive  of  Geraldine  Farrar.  Her  voice  is 
of  lighter  texture  and  more  purely  lyrical,  but 
it  has  much  the  same  capacity  for  taking  on  a 
wide  variety  of  emotional  color.  It  has  a  lovely 
appealing  quality,  if  not  of  great  body;  fresh, 
flexible,  exquisitely  limpid  and  unforced  in  the 
upper  register,  and  equalized  throughout  its 
compass.  She  has  rare  command  of  dynamic 
shading,  her  crescendo  and  diminuendo  on  sin- 
gle tones  are  exceptionally  lovely.  Her  face 
is  ever  expressive." 

Two  or  three  years  later  she  suffered  a  loss 
of  voice,  and  returned  to  Europe,  where  she 
tried  all  kinds  of  doctors.  Eventually  she  went 
to  Milan  and  was  operated  on  for  a  node  on 
the  vocal  chord.  After  a  period  of  complete 
rest  her  singing  powers  returned,  and  she  re- 
sumed her  career  in  1919. 

Among  the  singers  new  to  the  Metropolitan 
in  this  season  was  Lila  Robeson,  a  native  of 
Cleveland,  0.,  who  had  gained  some  experience 
with  the  Aborn  Opera  company,  after  studying 
in  Cleveland  with  Mrs.  Seabury  Ford,  and  in 
New  York  with  Luckstone  and  Saenger.  She 
had  appeared  in  contralto  parts  such  as  Am- 
neris  in  "Aida,"  Azucena  in  "II  Trovatore," 
and  Ortrud  in  "Lohengrin,"  and  her  opportn- 


462       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

nity  at  the  Metropolitan  came  when,  Matzenaur 
being  indisposed,  she  was  called  upon  to  sing 
the  part  of  Fricka,  without  rehearsal,  with 
Fremstad,  Gadski  and  Griswold. 

Jacques  Urlus,  a  Dutch  tenor,  made  his  de- 
but at  the  Metropolitan  in  February,  1913,  an 
event  which  was  sensational  owing  to  his  com- 
plete loss  of  voice  during  the  performance. 
Later  he  appeared  in  the  Nibelungen  Cycle  and 
amply  made  up  for  the  earlier  disappointment. 

"He  is  the  most  valuable  tenor  acquisition," 
writes  a  critic,  "that  the  Metropolitan  has 
made  in  years,  uniting  superlative  excellence 
of  voice,  musical  understanding,  etc.  To  the 
eye  he  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  exponents 
of  the  fearless  hero  since  Max  Alvary.  His 
portrayal  of  the  character  (Siegfried)  is  essen- 
tially poetic  in  conception. " 

Mr.  Urlus  was  born  in  Amsterdam,  educated 
at  Utrecht  and  his  native  city,  where  he  be- 
came tenor  in  the  opera  house  and,  after  two 
years,  took  the  leading  parts.  His  first  lead- 
ing part  was  Lohengrin.  He  sang  at  Bayreuth 
for  some  years.  He  remained  with  the  Metro- 
politan Company  till  1917. 

Paul  Althouse,  an  American  tenor,  with  no 
foreign  training  or  experience,  made  his  debut 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     463 

at  the  Metropolitan  late  in  this  season,  in 
March,  at  the  production  of  "Boris  Godounov," 
in  which  opera  he  was  cast  as  the  False  Dimitri. 

"Not  in  years,"  writes  a  critic,  "has  a  native 
tenor  appeared  offering  such  possibilities  as 
were  revealed  in  the  equipment  of  Mr.  Alt- 
house.  He  has  a  voice  of  unusual  beauty  of 
quality  and  a  style  of  vocalism  that  brings  it 
forth  to  the  greatest  advantage." 

Paul  Althouse  is  a  native  of  Reading,  Pa. 
and  was  educated  in  his  home  city  and  at  Buek- 
nell  University.  He  studied  singing  with 
Percy  Rector  Stephens  and  Oscar  Saenger. 
In  his  boyhood  he  was  a  church  soprano.  His 
parents  wished  him  to  follow  a  commercial 
career  and  he  had  various  experiences  in  busi- 
ness occupations;  but  kept  in  view  his  desire 
for  a  musical  career.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
cut  loose  from  business  and  went  to  New  York, 
where  he  studied  hard  for  two  years  and  at  last 
obtained  a  hearing  at  the  Metropolitan,  sing- 
ing "Celeste  Aida"  in  such  a  manner  that  even 
the  accompanist  lost  his  bored  expression.  A 
contract  was  made,  and  he  gained  stage  ex- 
perience by  appearing  in  minor  parts.  Even- 
tually his  chance  came  in  "Boris  Godounov." 
He  was  said  to  have  been  the  first  American 


464       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tenor  without  European  experience, — to  sing 
leading  roles  at  the  Metropolitan.  He  had  a 
leading  role  in  the  production  of  " Madeline" 
and  of  "  Madame  Sans-Gene"  in  1916,  and  he 
created  the  part  of  The  Squire  in  "The  Can- 
terbury Pilgrims"  at  its  very  first  performance, 
also  the  principal  tenor  role  in  "Shanewis." 
Since  his  debut  at  the  Metropolitan,  Mr.  Alt- 
house  has  sung  with  practically  all  the  leading 
organizations  throughout  the  United  States. 
In  1914  he  married  Elizabeth  Breen  of  St.  Paul, 
Minn. 

Another  American  singer  who  made  her  de- 
but in  "Boris  Godounov"  was  Sophie  Braslau, 
contralto,  who  took  the  part  of  Theodora, —  "a 
charming  and  vocally  eloquent  Theodora." 
Miss  Braslau  is  a  native  of  New  York,  where 
she  studied  singing  with  Buzzi-Peccia  and 
Sibella.  She  appeared  with  a  number  of  other 
candidates  for  positions  with  the  Metropolitan 
Company,  and  was  successful.  She  was  twenty- 
two  years  of  age  and  had  never  sung  in  such 
a  large  auditorium.  Her  appearance  in  "Bo- 
ris" was  her  first  on  any  stage.  Since  that 
time  she  has  grown  in  art  and  in  favor,  and 
has  been  heard  in  most  of  the  largest  cities  of 
America. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     465 

The  most  important  debut,  in  the  season  of 
1913-14,  at  the  Metropolitan  was  that  of  Mar- 
garete  Arndt-Ober,  mezzo  soprano,  a  native  of 
Berlin,  who  had  been  singing  at  the  Royal 
Opera  since  1907.  She  had  studied  singing  in 
Berlin  with  Benno  Stolzenberg,  and  piano  with 
Arthur  Arndt,  whom  she  married.  She  made 
her  operatic  debut  in  1906  at  Frankfort,  as 
Azucena,  was  at  the  Stettin  Theatre  the  follow- 
ing season  and  then  at  the  Royal  Opera  in  Ber- 
lin. 

Brought  to  America  by  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza 
to  fill  places  of  contraltos  who  might  be  inca- 
pacitated, she  at  once  stepped  into  a  place  of 
her  own,  and  has  maintained  her  popularity. 

A  report  of  her  debut  as  Ortrud  is  most  en- 
thusiastic. She  proved  herself  an  actress  of 
altogether  exceptional  penetration  and  insight, 
— "For  stupendous  potency  of  emotional  ut- 
terance, for  incisiveness  of  accent,  for  breadth 
and  impassioned  eloquence,  for  vitriolic  asper- 
ity, mingled  with  a  grandeur  truly  regal,  this 
Ortrud  is  probably  unsurpassed  by  any  living 
impersonator  of  the  character." 

Also, — "Madame  Ober  is  a  large  woman  and 
her  voice  matches  her  physical  proportions  in 
volume.  It  is  a  superb  organ  of  true  mezzo 


466       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

quality  and  extensive  compass.  Chameleon- 
like,  her  voice  changes  with  every  subtle  modu- 
lation of  dramatic  sentiment,  and  perfect  is  the 
only  term  that  describes  the  clarity  of  her  enun- 
ciation. ' ' 

Madame  Ober  was  possessed  of  tremendous 
dramatic  power,  and  the  reviews  of  her  work 
are  crowded  with  superlatives. 

All  went  well  till  after  the  war.  At  that 
time  the  management  of  the  Metropolitan  de- 
cided to  give  German  opera  a  holiday,  and 
therefore  dispensed  with  the  services  of  Ma- 
dame Ober,  who  brought  suit  for  fifty  thousand 
dollars  damages.  The  case  brought  up  some 
interesting  questions.  The  defendants  held 
that  she  could  not  recover,  as  she  was  an  alien 
enemy.  Madame  Ober  claimed  that  she  and 
her  husband  were  practically  Americans,  with 
a  house  in  America  and  first  papers  for  natu- 
ralization. The  judge  decided  that  though  Ger- 
man, she  was  not  classed  as  an  alien  enemy, 
no  complaint  having  been  made  against  her, 
and  she  was  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the 
courts.  The  result  has  escaped  the  observation 
of  the  present  writer. 

A  new  Italian  tenor,  of  good  repute  in  his 
native  land,  appeared  in  this  season,  one  Italio 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     467 

Cristalli.  He  made  his  debut  as  Edgardo  in 
"Lucia"  but  was  nervous,  white-voiced  and  off 
pitch.  He  was  not  quite  so  much  of  a  failure 
as  his  predecessor,  of  whom  we  are  told  "his 
impersonation  was  as  colorless  as  his  voice." 

A  Metropolitan  debut  is  a  trying  ordeal ;  even 
Martinelli,  who  is  today  considered  the  leading 
tenor,  met  with  but  a  cool  reception  at  first. 
He  made  his  debut  in  November,  1913,  as  Ru- 
dolf o  in  "La  Boheme,"  and,  while  one  paper 
reports  that  he  had  every  reason  to  expand 
with  pride  over  an  ovation  for  which  even  Ca- 
ruso in  his  glory  might  have  deigned  to  be 
thankful,  while  enthusiasm  was  rampant,  and 
flowers  were  profuse,  yet  "he  forced  his  tones 
several  times  and  lapsed  occasionally  from  the 
pitch." 

A  year  or  two  later  the  critics  were  more 
kindly, — "He  sang  Rhadames  and  it  was  really 
beautiful."  In  short,  while  he  did  not  make 
the  most  satisfactory  beginning,  he  improved 
and  became  a  great  favorite. 

Giovanni  Martinelli  was  born  near  Montag- 
nana,  Venice,  in  1885.  It  is  recorded  that  he 
played  the  clarinet  in  a  military  band,  and 
studied  voice  under  Mandolini.  He  made  his 
debut  in  Milan  as  Ernani.  He  soon  achieved 


468       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

success  in  Italy,  Nice  and  London.  He  came 
to  America  with  youth,  good  stage  presence 
and  brilliant  voice  in  his  favor  and,  by  hard 
work,  succeeded. 

Karl  Braun,  a  bass  baritone,  made  his  debut 
at  the  Metropolitan  on  February  8,  1913,  and 
displayed  a  voice  of  very  fine  quality,  good 
volume  and  resonance,  also  an  efficient  method 
of  singing,  and  artistic  intelligence.  He  took 
such  parts  as  Sarastro  in  "The  Magic  Flute," 
Marcel  in  "Les  Huguenots,"  Pogner  in  the 
"Meistersinger,"  and  Hagen  in  "Gotterdam- 
merung. ' '  The  reputation  which  had  preceded 
him  was  that  of  a  specialist  in  this  latter  role, 
and  he  sang  and  acted  Hagen  in  a  manner  the 
equal  of  which  had  never  before  been  seen  in 
New  York. 

Rudolf  Berger,  a  German  tenor,  appeared  at 
the  Metropolitan  in  February,  1914.  Born  in 
Bonn,  he  studied  at  the  conservatory  in  that 
city,  and  began  his  career  at  the  Festspielhaus 
at  Bayreuth,  where  he  changed  from  a  bari- 
tone to  a  tenor.  He  was  a  man  of  magnificent 
proportions,  standing  six  feet  four  inches.  In 
a  review  of  his  work  at  the  Metropolitan  it  ap- 
pears that  he  was  a  distinctly  satisfying  Tris- 
tan,— imposing,  knightly,  aristocratic.  His  dra- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     469 

matic  realization  of  the  part  impressed  one  as 
rather  more  satisfactory  than  was  the  case  with 
Siegmund,  or  with  his  Walther.  His  enuncia- 
tion was  very  clear  and  he  sang  in  tune — no- 
table virtues.  "His  action  after  taking  the  love 
potion  was  rather  unnecessarily  restless,  and 
suggested  a  sudden  illness  rather  than  the  in- 
ception of  unconcealable  ardor. ' ' 

Berger  married  Madame  Marie  Bappold  in 
1913,  but  not  long  after  he  died  very  suddenly, 
in  fact  within  half  an  hour  of  the  time  when  he 
had  been  talking  over  the  phone  about  the  next 
performance  of  Tristan. 

Another  noteworthy  Tristan  was  Edouardo 
Ferrari-Fontana,  born  in  Rome  in  1878,  where 
his  father  was  a  noted  physician.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Rome,  and  entered 
the  consular  service.  He  made  his  debut  at 
Turin  as  Tristan  in  1910,  and  three  years  later 
joined  the  Metropolitan  Company.  Before 
that,  however,  he  appeared  in  Boston  as  Tris- 
tan, and  in  other  poses  and,  making  a  success, 
was  "borrowed"  by  the  Metropolitan,  and  then 
became  a  member  of  the  Company.  In  1915  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Opera  Com- 
pany. In  the  same  year  he  also  married  Mar- 
guerite Matzenaur,  but  the  union  was  dissolved 


470       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

after  a  few  years.  It  was  during  Henry  Rus- 
sell's Paris  season  with  the  Boston  Opera  Com- 
pany that  Ferrari-Fontana  made  one  of  the 
greatest  triumphs,  as  Otello,  at  the  Champs 
Elysees.  Then  followed  his  appearance  as 
Tristan  in  Boston,  and  his  further  successes 
in  America. 

The  great  war  broke  out  at  the  beginning 
of  August,  1914,  and  at  that  time  many  of  the 
opera  singers  were  in  Europe.  Some  of  them 
entered  the  war  in  the  service  of  their  respec- 
tive nations,  but  Signer  Gatti-Casazza  suc- 
ceeded in  one  way  or  another  in  getting  to- 
gether and  bringing  to  America  a  goodly  com- 
pany of  artists,  and  opera  continued  as  usual 
at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House. 

For  lyric  tenor  roles,  Luca  Botta  was  added 
to  the  Metropolitan  Company  and  made  his  de- 
but as  Rudolf o  in  "La  Boheme."  He  was  con- 
sidered the  best  of  his  kind  among  the  younger 
Italians  of  recent  years, — "has  good  presence, 
acts  naturally,  is  free  from  mannerisms  and 
does  not  hold  all  notes  above  F  to  the  distrac- 
tion of  discriminating  listeners.  His  voice  has 
a  good  healthy  timbre  and  carries  well." 

Luca  Botta  was  born  at  Amalfi,  Italy,  and 
first  heard  opera  when  he  was  seven  years  of 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     471 

age.  He  became  stage-struck,  and  eventually 
succeeded,  through  the  doorkeeper  of  a 
theatre,  in  getting  a  place  as  super.  As  he 
grew  up  he  studied  with  Vergine,  and  even- 
tually was  offered  an  opportunity  to  sing  the 
part  of  Turiddu  in  '  *  Cavaleria  Rusticana ' '  if 
he  could  learn  it  in  three  days.  He  did  so  and 
was  engaged  for  Malta  at  a  salary  of  two  hun- 
dred francs  a  month.  He  made  his  debut  in 
1911  and  came  to  America  for  the  first  time  in 
1912,  where  he  was  heard  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
While  in  San  Francisco  he  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Madame  Alda,  who  was  there  on  a  con- 
cert tour.  Through  her  influence  he  was  en- 
gaged for  the  Metropolitan  Company,  making 
his  debut  on  Nov.  21, 1914,  with  Bori  and  Scotti 
in  the  cast.  Botta's  career  was  ended  by  death, 
Sept.  29,  1916,  the  result  of  an  apparently 
slight  accident  in  1915. 

For  heroic  tenor  parts  came  Johannes  Sem- 
bach,  who  had  been  associated  with  Mahler  at 
the  Vienna  Hofoper  from  1903-1907.  In  fact 
he  declared  that  Madame  Sembach  and  Gustav 
Mahler  had  discovered  his  voice.  While  visit- 
ing Vienna  his  wife  had  suggested  that  he 
should  see  Mahler.  He  did  so,  and  after  a 
severe  test  Mahler  engaged  him,  and  he  made 


472       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

his  debut  in  Pfitzner's  opera  "Die  Eose  von 
Liebesgarten. "  After  1907  he  was  called  to 
Dresden.  In  1910  he  sang  at  Covent  Garden. 
He  studied  a  year  and  a  half  with  de  Reszke. 
He  appeared  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House 
as  Parsifal  on  November  26,  1914. 

The  review  says  that  he  was  warmly  greeted, 
and  with  good  reason, — * '  As  a  singer  ke  cannot 
be  said  to  have  greatly  distinguished  himself. 
His  voice  betrays  many  signs  of  hard  usage, 
though  he  is  still  a  young  man.  His  use  of 
the  open  tone  is  constant.  But  he  makes  up 
greatly  for  his  want  of  vocal  sensuousness  by 
the  intelligence  of  his  delivery,  his  impeccable 
enunciation  and  the  emotional  directness  of  his 
treatment  of  each  phrase.  In  appearance  he 
is  the  most  satisfactory  Parsifal  seen  here  in 
years ;  as  an  actor,  he  is  truly  distinguished.  It 
was  a  subtle,  persuasive  and  carefully  shaded 
presentment,  a  finely  wrought  portraiture  of 
a  spiritual  evolution,  consistent  and  steadily 
cumulative. ' ' 

On  December  30,  1914,  Mabel  Garrison  ap- 
peared at  the  Metropolitan  as  The  Page  in 
"Les  Huguenots,"  and  sang  "with  a  voice  of 
delicious  purity,  brilliancy,  and  freshness,  of 
extensive  range  and  considerable  flexibility, — a 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     473 

singer  who  promises  to  develop  into  an  artist 
of  notable  qualifications." 

Miss  Garrison,  who  is  Mrs.  George  Siemonn, 
is  a  native  of  Baltimore,  and  was  educated  at 
Western  Maryland  College,  and  the  Peabody 
Institute,  studying  later  with  Saenger  and 
Witherspoon.  She  made  her  debut  as  Philine 
in  "Mignon"  at  the  Boston  Opera  House,  and 
toured  with  the  Theodore  Thomas  Orches- 
tra. She  joined  the  Metropolitan  Opera  in 
1913,  and  had,  at  first,  to  be  content  with  small 
parts. 

She  had  her  opportunity  again  when,  owing 
to  indisposition,  Frieda  Hempel  was  unable  to 
sing  in  "The  Magic  Flute"  and  Miss  Garrison 
filled  the  role  admirably.  ' l  She  refrained  from 
forcing  her  voice  and  so  retained  its  resonance 
and  loveliness  of  quality,  and  delivered  the  two 
great  arias  with  delightful  facility  and  true 
brilliancy  of  execution." 

Again,  in  1917,  she  had  to  sing  at  short  notice 
in  the  place  of  Barrientos,  when  she  did  the 
Mad  Scene  in  "Lucia"  and  proved  herself  a 
first  rate  coloratura  soprano. 

Elizabeth  Schumann,  imported  from  Ger- 
many, disclosed  a  voice  of  considerable  beauty, 
and  took  secondary  parts  with  some  success 


474       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

during  the  season  of  1914-15.  She  made  her 
debut  as  Sophie  in  "Kosenkavalier." 

The  chief  event  of  March,  1915,  was  the  debut 
of  Melanie  Kurt,  who  came  to  take  the 
place  left  vacant  by  the  withdrawal  of  Olive 
Fremstad.  Born  in  Vienna,  she  studied  piano 
with  Leschetiszky  and  won  a  medal  and  the 
Liszt  prize,  and  appeared  as  a  concert  pianist 
at  the  age  of  seventeen.  She  studied  singing 
with  Marie  and  Lilli  Lehmann  and  made  her 
debut  as  Elizabeth  in  *  '  Tannhauser  "  at  Lube*ck 
in  1903.  Then  she  sang  a  year  in  Leipzig, 
three  years  in  Brunswick,  and  five  years  at  the 
Royal  Opera  in  Berlin,  besides  touring  Austria, 
Hungary,  Germany  and  Belgium  and  singing  at 
Covent  Garden.  In  1909  she  married  Max 
Deri  of  Vienna. 

Appearing -at  the  Metropolitan  on  February 
1,  1915  as  Isolde  in  "Tristan  und  Isolde,"  she 
was  at  once  recognized  as  an  artist  of  supe- 
rior merit.  "The  new  artist"  writes  a  critic, 
"has  the  self-evident  advantage  of  youth,  and 
beautiful  tone,  a  distinguished  presence,  ease  of 
bearing,  and  grace  of  movement.  She  reminds 
one  in  many  ways  of  Berta  Morena.  Vocally 
she  far  surpasses  that  estimable  but  uneven  art- 
ist. Large  in  volume,  wide  in  compass,  reson- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     475 

ant  save  in  its  lower  tones,  her  voice  has  the 
ring  of  youthful  freshness  and  a  timbre  rich, 
rather  than  brilliant.  She  sang  the  highest 
passages  of  Isolde  with  gratifying  assurance, 
and  generally  with  success.  She  disclosed  a 
fine  command  of  legato  style  and,  on  the  whole, 
a  sensitive  feeling  for  the  melodic  curve." 

Another  critic  writes, — ' '  Her  voice  is  a  great, 
pure,  perfectly  handled  soprano.  Her  high 
notes  are  taken  with  perfect  ease,  they  ring  out 
apparently  without  effort.  Her  Isolde  bore 
comparison  well  with  her  predecessors.  Regal 
and  lovely  in  her  presence,  intellectual  in  her 
acting,  singing  with  lovely  quality  and  perfect 
diction,  her  performance  will  linger  long  in 
memory.  Her  Kundry — sinister,  demoniac,  sul- 
len, alternating  impassivity  with  vicious  im- 
pulse— held  the  audience  from  the  first.  Her 
"fearful  cry"  at  Klingsor's  summons  was 
bloodcurdling,  also  her  devilish  laughter. "  He 
goes  on  to  say  that  one  gains  the  same  im- 
pression of  her  personality,  on  meeting  her, 
as  from  her  artistic  achievements, — one  of  re- 
strained strength,  of  simplicity  and  modesty. 
She  is  a  very  beautiful  woman. 

Madame  Kurt  was  heard  in  all  the  Wag- 
nerian  roles,  and  many  Italian  operas ;  she  also 


476       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

created  the  part  of  Iphegeme  in  the  revival 
of  Gluck's  "Iphegenie  in  Tauris,"  in  1916. 

On  January  31,  1916,  Maria  Barrientos,  a 
young  Spanish  soprano,  made  her  Metropolitan 
debut  as  Lucia  and  created  some  excitement. 
She  received  a  dozen  curtain  calls  at  the  end 
of  the  first  act,  and  after  the  mad  scene  pande- 
monium broke  forth. 

Maria  Barrientos  was  born  in  Barcelona, 
Spain,  and  was  trained  as  a  violinist  and  pi- 
anist. At  an  advanced  period  of  her  musical 
studies  her  health  compelled  her  to  seek  recre- 
ation. She  tried  singing,  and  started  on  her 
career  as  a  singer  with  a  thorough  musical 
training  and  understanding  of  the  greatest 
things  in  mqisical  literature.  She  made  her 
debut  at  the  Teatro  Novedados  in  Barcelona 
on  March  4,  1889,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  as 
Inez  in  ' '  L  'Af ricaine, "  and  soon  appeared  at 
Milan,  making  her  debut  at  La  Scala  as  Lakme. 
She  appeared  at  many  other  houses  and  spent 
some  years  in  South  America,  until  1913.  In 
1907  she  married  George  Keene  in  Barcelona. 
Oscar  Hammerstein  intended  to  get  her  for  the 
Lexington  Ave  season,  but  his  plans  were  frus- 
trated, and  Gatti-Casazza  secured  her,  after 
she  had  retired  from  the  stage  for  three  years. 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     477 

The  account  of  her  New  York  debut  records 
that  "her  voice  is  amazingly  small  .  .  .  but 
possesses  resonance  and  carrying  power,  and 
she  can  emit  ppp  tones  that  float  like  feather- 
down  to  the  furthermost  reaches  of  the  house. 
A  typical  coloratura  voice,  flexible  to  a  degree 
and  in  the  quality  of  tones  often  flute-like,  with 
all  that  this  quality  implies.  Like  Tetraz- 
zini's  it  is  not  particularly  susceptible  to  color. 
It  pleases  nevertheless  by  its  smoothness  and 
fineness  of  texture.  The  equalization  of  the 
scales  is  not  perfect,  and  certain  tones  sung 
in  the  throat  result  in  a  white  and  reedy  me- 
dium quality.  Nothing  in  her  work  affords 
greater  pleasure  than  the  infallible  certainty  of 
her  intonation,  attaining  high  E  flat  without 
effort." 

She  appeared  as  Rosina  at  the  centennial  per- 
formance of  "II  Barbiere"  and  bettered  the  im- 
pression made  at  her  previous  appearance,  and 
showed  how  deliciously  she  could  swell  and  di- 
minish a  tone  of  dizzy  altitude. 

As  Gilda  also  she  "uttered  the  highest  flights 
of  its  coloratura  with  that  feathery  lightness, 
that  delicacy  and  exquisitely  wrought  detail 
work,  with  which  she  enchanted  her  hearers 
from  the  first. ' ' 


478       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

It  is  said  that  when  Madame  Barrientos  made 
her  debut  in  Milan  she  looked  so  young  that  her 
mother  was  obliged  to  show  her  birth  certifi- 
cate. 

An  American  soprano  who  came  to  the  front 
in  this  season  was  Edith  Mason,  a  native  of  St. 
Louis.  After  studying  in  the  schools  of  Phila- 
delphia, Washington  and  Cincinnati  she  went 
abroad  and  became  a  pupil  of  Enrico  Bertram. 
Returning  to  America,  she  continued  her  musi- 
cal studies  and  then  went  to  Paris  under  Ed- 
ouard  Clement.  She  sang  in  Nice  and  Mar- 
seilles and  then  continued  studies  in  Italy  under 
Vanzo  and  Cottone.  She  was  to  have  sung  at 
the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris,  but  the  war  pre- 
vented, so  she  returned  to  New  York  and  joined 
the  Metropolitan  company,  making  her  debut 
as  Sophie  in  "Rosenkavalier,"  in  which  part 
she  won  immediate  favor.  Then  she  appeared 
as  Gretel,  in  "Hansel  and  Gretel,"  and  sang 
the  music  with  delightful  freedom  and  fresh- 
ness, and  acted  with  exuberance.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  Page  in  "The  Masked  Ball"  and  Mi- 
caela  in  "Carmen,"  Musetta  in  "La  Boheme," 
and  Ah  Toe  in  "L'Oracolo"  in  which  she 
was  called  upon  at  short  notice  on  account 
of  Bori's  illness.  In  1917  she  went  to  Cen- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     479 

tral  America  and  Havana,  and  then  joined 
La  Scala  company  for  a  transcontinental 
tour. 

Giuseppe  de  Luca  is  an  Italian  baritone  who 
appeared  at '  the  Metropolitan  in  December, 
1915,  in  "II  Barbiere."  He  is  a  singer  of  great 
versatility.  Italian  works  are  his  favorites  but 
he  also  sings  some  Wagnerian  parts.  He  showed 
skill  as  a  comedian  of  lightest,  deftest  touch, 
irreproachable  good  taste  and  facile,  but  un- 
failing dramatic  method.  Without  striking 
features  or  imposing  presence  he  is  neverthe- 
less a  figure  of  unmistakable  distinction.  His 
voice  is  flexible,  skillfully  handled  and  delight- 
ful in  quality,  and  easily  filled  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  House. 

De  Luca  is  a  native  of  Rome,  and  his  vocal 
schooling  began  when  he  was  fifteen.  His 
teacher  at  the  conservatory  was  Persichini. 
He  was  a  little  over  twenty  when  he  made  his 
debut  at  Piacenza  in  * '  Faust. ' '  Before  coming 
to  America  he  had  sung  eight  seasons  at  La 
Scala,  eleven  at  Buenos  Ayres,  three  in  London, 
besides  appearing  in  Rome,  Barcelona,  Vienna, 
Bucharest,  Petrograd  and  Moscow.  In  Italy 
he  created  the  baritone  roles  in  "Griselidis," 
"Adrienne  Lecouvreur"  and  Franchetti's 


480       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

"Notte  de  Leggenda,"    Also  he  was  decorated 
in  three  countries. 

The  season  of  1916-1917  was  much  affected 
by  the  war,  which,  however,  gave  American 
singers  more  or  less  opportunity;  two  of  them, 
Marie  Sundelius  and  Alice  Eversman,  making 
places  for  themselves  in  the  Metropolitan. 

The  chief  importation  was  Claudia  Muzio,  a 
native  of  Pavia,  Italy,  who  was  educated  in 
Italy  and  England,  and  made  her  debut  at 
Arezzo.  She  sang  at  Naples,  Milan  and  London 
before  coming  to  the  Metropolitan,  where  she 
made  her  American  debut  on  December  4,  1916, 
in  "Tosca."  The  report  of  the  performance 
says, — "She  is  a  beautiful  person  with  capti- 
vating eyes,  fairly  mobile  and  expressive  fea- 
tures, a  handsome  figure  and  youth,  and  while, 
perhaps,  not  individual  in  artistic  method,  is 
well  grounded  in  stage  routine,  intelligent,  and 
consistent  in  device.  Her  Tosca  was  not  with- 
out its  force.  ...  In  the  main  she  displayed 
loveliness  of  voice  and  colored  her  tones  with 
emotional  expressiveness. ' ' 

In  the  following  March  she  took  the  title 
role  in  "Loreley,"  when  a  critic  wrote, — "Few, 
if  any,  gave  proper  credit  to  the  wonderful  per- 
formance of  Madame  Muzio.  It  was  most  ap- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     481 

pealing,  especially  in  the  first  act.  From  the 
moment  of  her  entrance,  she  displayed  a  charm 
which  was  delicious.  She  sang  her  music  beau- 
tifully, artistically,  with  fine  understanding. 
The  applause  was  tremendous." 

Fernando  Carpi,  who  joined  the  Metropoli- 
tan this  season,  was  a  law  student  of  Bologna 
when  his  voice  was  discovered.  He  was 
twenty-three  when  he  made  his  debut  at  Fano. 
He  travelled  in  Russia  two  years  and  then  re- 
turned to  Milan.  He  made  a  success  at  Covent 
Garden  in  1909,  since  which  time  he  had  sung  in 
various  parts  of  Europe  and  South  America. 

Marie  Sundelius  was  born  in  Karlstad, 
Sweden,  her  maiden  name  being  Sundborg. 
She  made  her  first  appearance  as  a  singer  at  the 
age  of  four.  She  was  brought  to  America  by 
her  parents  when  ten  years  of  age.  They  set- 
tled in  Boston,  where  the  little  girl  went  to 
school.  She  did  not  begin  the  study  of  sing- 
ing in  earnest  until  she  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  when  she  became  a  pupil  of  Madame  de 
Berg  Lofgren.  She  soon  got  a  small  church 
position  and  some  concert  engagements,  and 
with  the  proceeds  bought  herself  a  piano.  She 
married  Dr.  G.  Sundelius  while  still  quite 
young,  and  she  became  a  pupil  of  Gertrude 


482       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Franklin  Salisbury.  Before  going  to  New 
York  to  enter  the  Metropolitan  Company  she 
was  soloist  at  the  New  Old  South  Church  in 
Boston,  and  was  very  much  in  demand  as  a 
concert  singer. 

She  joined  the  Metropolitan  Company  in  1916, 
and  has  made  steady  progress,  taking  leading 
parts  in  several  operas,  and  always  appearing 
with  success. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day,  in  1916,  May  Peter- 
son made  her  debut  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House  as  Micaela  in  " Carmen."  Few  young 
singers  have  received  as  consistently  warm 
praise  from  the  critics-.  "She  showed  herself 
to  be  an  artist  in  the  management  of  her 
voice  and  sang  with  charm.  Her  voice  is  of 
good  quality,  she  has  good  technique,  and  real 
intelligence, — and  she  was  rapturously  ap- 
plauded! She  is  now  well  known  throughout 
the  country. 

Miss  Peterson's  -career  should  be  a  matter 
of  interest  to  young  singers.  Her  father  was  a 
Methodist  clergyman,  and  as  a  young  girl  she 
helped  him  in  his  evangelistic  meetings  by  play- 
ing the  organ,  and  singing  at  his  services.  At 
twelve  she  was  organist  of  her  father's  church 
in  Oshkosh,  Wis.  When  she  was  fifteen  she 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     483 

determined  to  go  to  Chicago,  and  she  got  along 
there  by  singing  in  church  and  playing  accom- 
paniments; she  also  did  a  little  teaching.  She 
saved  up  three  hundred  dollars  and  went  third 
class  to  Italy,  where  she  lived  very  economi- 
cally, getting  her  own  meals  and  cooking  them 
over  a  little  oil  lamp  in  her  room.  She  got  work 
as  an  accompanist,  and  sang  sometimes  in  the 
American  church  in  Florence.  During  an  ill- 
ness she  was  cared  for  by  the  Blue  Nuns. 

In  time  she  went  to  Berlin,  where  she  did  not 
get  on  so  well.  Through  the  consulate  she 
heard  of  a  woman  nearly  blind  who  wanted 
some  one  to  read  for  her,  and  she  got  one  mark 
for  two  hours  reading.  She  also  gave  lessons 
in  English.  George  Ferguson,  the  noted  vocal 
teacher,  arranged  to  give  her  lessons  in  ex- 
change for  accompaniments,  and  she  learned 
much  through  watching  his  work. 

At  the  end  of  five  years  sojourn  in  Europe 
she  returned  to  Chicago  and  sang  for  Frederick 
Stock,  who  advised  her  to  get  some  operatic  rep- 
utation, as  it  would  help  her  in  her  career  as 
a  concert  singer.  So  she  returned  to  Europe, 
going  this  time  to  Paris,  and  soon  got  an  offer 
of  a  debut  at  Vichy.  She  made  similar  appear- 
ances elsewhere  and  then  came  to  the  Gaiete- 


484       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Lyrique  and  finally  to  the  Opera  Comique, 
under  a  contract  which  was  terminated  by  the 
war.  Her  subsequent  career  is  well  known. 

Florence  Easton,  who  made  her  debut  at  the 
Metropolitan  in  December,  1917,  was  the  most 
important  acquisition  among  sopranos  of  that 
season.  Previous  to  joining  the  Metropolitan 
Company  she  had  been  for  a  season  with  the 
Chicago  Company,  making  her  first  appearance 
with  them  in  December,  1916,  as  "Briinnhilde," 
when  she  was  reported  as  having  "a  most  in- 
gratiating personality,  a  voice  of  lovely  quality, 
sweetness,  clearness  and  great  carrying  power, 
thorough  understanding  of  the  role  and  graceful 
acting.  Well-versed  in  the  traditions  of  the 
Wagner  school.  Enunciation  distinct. "  Fran- 
cis Maclennan,  her  husband,  appeared  as  Sieg- 
fried and  gave  a  very  satisfactory  performance. 
He  was  easy  and  spirited  in  his  actions,  full- 
throated  in  his  song. 

Madame  Easton 's  first  appearance  at  the 
Metropolitan  was  as  Santuzza,  and  we  are  told 
"the  splendid  impression  made  by  her  vocal  art 
was  heightened  by  the  security  and  authority  of 
her  musicianship. "  She  has  taken  many  of  the 
dramatic  soprano  roles  and  has  appeared  as 
Kundry, — "the  finest  embodiment  of  the  char- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     485 

acter  since  Olive  Fremstad  glorified  the  Metro- 
politan stage."  On  this  occasion  a  critic  de- 
clared "Miss  Easton  is  the  greatest,  most  ver- 
satile and  practically  the  most  richly  dowered 
artist  at  the  Metropolitan  today.  Her  Kundry 
ranks  next  to  that  of  Ternina  and  Fremstad." 
Florence  Easton  is  a  native  of  Yorkshire, 
England,  but  went,  when  a  child,  to  Toronto, 
Canada,  with  her  parents,  who  were  singers. 
She  appeared  as  a  pianist  at  the  age  of  ten. 
After  the  death  of  her  parents  she  studied  sing- 
ing at  the  Royal  Academy  in  London  under 
Elliott  Haslam,  'and,  following  some  experience 
with  the  Manners  Opera  Company,  she  made  her 
debut  at  Covent  Garden  in  1903  as  Madame  But- 
ter-fly. Then  followed  engagements  at  the  Ber- 
lin Royal  Opera,  Hamburg  State  Theatre,  and 
in  England.  She  married  Francis  Maclennan 
in  1904.  They  were  fellow  members  of  the 
same  company,  and  sang  together.  In  England 
Miss  Easton  created  the  role  of  Elektra 
when  Strauss 's  opera  was  produced  there,  also 
Beatrice  in  Naylor's  "The  Angelus,"  and,  in 
New  York,  Elisabeth  in  Liszt's  "Legend  of 
Elizabeth, ' '  when  given  in  operatic  form.  Also 
she  was  the  first  woman  to  be  made  a  fellow  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Music  in  London. 


486       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

The  most  noteworthy  contralto  of  the  season 
was  Julia  Claussen  whose  maiden  name  was 
Ohlson  and  who  was  born  in  Stockholm,  Swe- 
den, and  educated  at  the  Koyal  Academy  of 
Music  in  that  city,  and  at  the  Koyal  High 
School  for  Music  in  Berlin.  She  married  Cap- 
tain T.  C.  F.  Claussen  in  1901,  and  in  1903  made 
her  debut  at  Stockholm  as  Leonora  in  "La 
Favorita."  She  remained  in  that  theatre  till 
1912  when  she  went  to  the  Stadt-theatre,  Stutt- 
gart. She  was  at  Covent  Garden,  and  the 
Champs  Elysees  in  Paris  in  1914,  but  was  with 
the  Chicago  Opera  Company  from  1912  to  1917, 
when  she  was  engaged  by  the  Metropolitan 
Company.  She  is  described  as  "a  dark,  vi- 
brant contralto  of  great  voluptuousness  in  the 
head  and  chest  tones."  She  made  her  New 
York  debut  as  Dalila. 

Cecil  Arden,  a  contralto,  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  company,  a  pupil  of  Buzzi-Pec- 
cia,  and  is  gaining  favor  each  year. 

Hippolito  Lazaro,  a  Spanish  tenor,  made  his 
debut  as  the  Duke  in  "Kigoletto"  in  February, 
1918.  He  had  a  beautiful  voice,  but  little  sense 
of  delicacy  or  art. 

Thomas  Chalmers  is  an  American  baritone 
who  joined  the  Metropolitan  Company  in  this 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     487 

season.  He  is  a  native  of  New  York  and  was 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  until  he 
had  progressed  in  the  vocal  art  sufficiently  for 
public  work.  In  1909  he  went  to  Florence  and 
studied  for  two  years  with  Lombardi,  making 
his  debut  in  "La  Boheme"  as  Marcello  in  1911. 
He  was  engaged  by  Henry  W.  Savage  to  sing 
Jack  Ranee  in  his  production  of  "The  Girl  of 
the  Golden  West."  After  touring  from  coast 
to  coast,  he  returned,  for  further  study,  to 
Italy.  In  1913  he  joined  the  -Century  Opera 
Company,  with  a  repertoire  of  twenty-three 
operas,  and  in  1917  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Metropolitan  Company. 

Jose  Mardones,  who  was  in  the  Boston  Opera 
Company,  also  joined  the  Metropolitan  in  this 
season. 

The  opening  night  of  the  season  1918-19  was 
marked  by  a  fervid  performance  of  national 
airs,  which  took  place  between  the  second  and 
third  acts.  The  curtain  rose,  the  chorus  waved 
flags  of  the  Entente  colors,  Homer,  Cousinou, 
Caruso  and  other  soloists  held  flags  of  their 
own  nationalities,  and  the  stars  of  the  company 
sang  various  national  anthems. 

The  sensation  of  this  season  was  Rosa  Pon- 
selle,  who  made  her  debut  on  November  15  in 


488       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

"La  Forza  del  Destine."  She  was  a  native  of 
Meriden,  Conn.,  and  had  never  set  foot  on  the 
operatic  stage. 

She  and  her  sister  Carmela  had  appeared  in 
a  vaudeville  house  under  rather  unusual  cir- 
cumstances. They  had  no  suitable  clothes  for 
the  stage,  and  persuaded  the  manager  to  let 
them  appear  in  ordinary  street  clothes.  He  let 
them  try  it,  with  much  trepidation,  for  one  eve- 
ning. After  that  they  were  advertised  in  elec- 
tric signs  over  the  theatre  door. 

Notwithstanding  the  allurements  of  vaude- 
ville, William  Thorner,  her  teacher,  persuaded 
Rosa  to  continue  her  studies  till  she  was  ready 
for  an  operatic  career,  and  before  long  a  hear- 
ing was  obtained.  At  that  time  Eosa  Ponselle 
was  twenty-one  years  old.  She  has  the  heri- 
tage of  Italian  beauty,  and  a  liquid  soprano 
voice. 

Since  her  debut  Miss  Ponselle  has  taken 
leading  parts,  and  has  been  gaining  in  stage 
experience  and  artistry.  She  is  yet  at  the  be- 
ginning of  her  career.  She  sang  twelve  roles 
in  her  first  four  seasons. 

At  the  same  performance  of  "La  Forza  del 
Destino,"  Alice  Gentle  made  her  Metropolitan 
debut.  Born  in  Peoria,  111.,  Miss  Gentle  went 


CHARLES    HACKETT   AS    COUNT  ALMAVIDA 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     489 

to  Seattle  and  was  there  a  church  singer.  She 
went  to  New  York  and  entered  Hammer  stein's 
chorus.  After  some  study  in  Milan  she  was  en- 
gaged for  La  Scala.  Then  she  returned  to  New 
York  and  made  her  debut  with  the  Metropolitan 
Company.  Since  that  time  she  has  been  in 
several  of  the  travelling  companies.  She  is,  in 
private  life,  Mrs.  Jacob  R.  Proebstel. 

Charles  Hackett,  who  made  his  American  op- 
eratic debut  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House  in 
1918,  comes  from  Worcester,  Mass.  He  studied 
singing  in  Boston  with  Arthur  J.  Hubbard,  and, 
during  his  student  days,  was  in  business  and  at 
the  same  time  sang  in  churches  and  filled  con- 
cert engagements.  He  was  tenor  soloist  at  the 
Arlington  Street  church  before  he  went  abroad 
in  1913  to  study  repertoire  and  coach  for  opera 
in  Italy.  He  made  his  operatic  debut  at  Parma, 
Italy,  in  Boito's  "Mefistofele,"  and  then  ap- 
peared in  Venice  and  other  places,  gaining  ex- 
perience until  at  Christmas,  1916,  he  scored  a 
success  at  La  Scala,  Milan,  in '  *  Mignon. ' '  Then 
followed  a  tour  in  Spain,  and  one  in  South 
America. 

It  was  after  his  return  from  South  America 
that  he  was  engaged  for  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House  in  New  York,  where  he  appeared  as 


490       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Count  Almaviva  in  "II  Barbiere"  and  received 
an  ovation. 

On  this  occasion  one  of  the  critics  wrote  as 
follows, — "Besides  a  beautiful  strength  and 
fullness  of  tone  which  is  revealed  in  high  notes 
of  an  exquisite  quality,  Mr.  Hackett  has  a 
flexibility  which  makes  his  pianissimo  equally 
beautiful.  There  is  a  grace  and  smoothness  in 
his  nuances  which  will  make  him  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  favorites  of  the  Metropolitan.  Also 
one  cannot  fail  to  notice  his  dramatic  talents. 
His  grace  and  charm,  and  his  splendid  appear- 
ance bring  at  last  to  the  ranks  of  tenor  singers 
one  who  can  carry  well,  physically,  the  role  of 
a  lover  without  rudely  shocking  the  artistic. 
His  enunciation  throughout  was  a  pleasure  and 
his  firm  hold  upon  the  vocal  texture  never  once 
permitted  a  single  tendency  to  vibrato." 

Such  was  the  report  of  Hackett 's  American 
debut.  In  1921  he  returned  to  Italy  and  was  in- 
vited to  open  the  season  at  La  Scala,  the  first 
American  tenor  to  whom  this  honor  has  been 
accorded.  He  was  unable  to  accept  the  invita- 
tion owing  to  other  engagements,  though  later 
he  made  a  great  hit  in  that  house  in  "II  Bar- 
biere. '  *  He  also  sang  at  Monte  -Carlo  and  made 
a  triumph  as  Cavaradossi  in  "Tosca,"  after 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     491 

which  he  sang  at  the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris, 
the  first  American  tenor,  it  is  said,  to  sing  at 
that  house. 

Robert  Cousinou,  a  French  baritone,  made  his 
debut  as  Athanael  in  " Thais."  His  voice  is 
of  ample,  if  not  over  large,  volume,  and  mellow, 
sympathetic  quality,  and  he  is  fully  versed  in 
the  conventionalities  of  acting.  He  came  from 
the  Grand  Opera  of  Paris. 

Luigi  Montesante  came  from  La  Scala  in 
Milan  and  is  a  native  of  Palermo.  His  rise  to 
success  was  rapid.  He  visited  America  in  1914 
as  a  member  of  the  Leoncavallo  Opera  Com- 
pany which  gave  performances  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  made  an  agreeable  impression. 

In  1919,  on  November  22,  a  young  Canadian 
contralto  made  her  debut  as  Azucena  in  "II 
Trovatore," — Jeanne  Gordon.  She  sang  also 
Brangaene  in  "Tristan  und  Isolde,"  the  Prin- 
cess Eboli  in  "Don  Carlos,"  Amneris  in 
"Ai'da,"  and  Fatima  in  "Oberon."  She  also 
created  the  part  of  the  Fairy  Beryline  in 
Wolff's  "Blue  Bird"  and  Mardion  in  Hadley's 
"Cleopatra's  Night." 

Miss  Gordon  is,  in  private  life,  Mrs.  Ralph 
Trix.  She  was  trained  for  opera  by  Romualilo 
Sapio,  and  not  only  made  an  instantaneous  sue- 


492       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

cess,  but  maintained  it.  As  one  of  the  critics 
said  '  It  is  beyond  the  power  of  any  human  be- 
ing to  put  anything  into  the  part  of  Azucena,  so  , 
that  any  singer  can  give  only  a  better  or  worse 
performance  of  it.  Miss  Gordon's  was  better. 
Her  voice  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  rich  in  the 
lower  register  without  being  over  colored,  and 
clear  in  the  upper.  Also  she  knows  how  to  act, 
and  has  the  unusual  ability  of  making  her  ges- 
tures follow  the  contour  of  the  music, — a  re- 
markable piece  of  work  for  a  debutante,  and 
would  have  been  very  fine  for  a  singer  of  long 
experience. ' ' 

She  is  now,  in  1922,  one  of  the  leading  con- 
traltos of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company. 
A  woman  of  commanding  presence. 

Giulio  Crimi,  an  Italian  tenor,  who  joined 
the  Metropolitan  in  1918,  proved  acceptable  in 
Italian  roles.  He  has  a  light  voice  of  appealing 
quality  and  an  admirable  bel  canto  style. 

Beniamo  Gigli  was  called  the  greatest  living 
tenor  in  Italy  and  achieved  considerable 
success  at  the  Metropolitan. 

More  American  singers  appear  to  have  been 
taken  into  the  Metropolitan  Company  each  year. 
Some  of  them  have  had  their  opportunity,  and 
some  have  had  to  begin  with  small  parts  or 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     493 

wait.  In  1920,  William  Gustafson  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  appeared  as  Titurel  in  "  Parsi- 
fal. ' '  He  sang  the  few  measures  with  sonorous 
round  tone  and  expressive  nobility.  Since  then 
he  has  been  assigned  more  important  roles, 
and  has  acquired  distinction.  He  was  a  pupil 
of  Willard  Flint  of  Boston. 

Marion  Telva,  contralto,  of  St.  Louis,  ap- 
peared on  December  31,  1920,  in  "Manon  Les- 
caut"  and  later  in  other  parts — Brangaene, 
Lola,  Mercedes,  etc.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
H.  J.  Taucke  of  St.  Louis,  and  studied  singing 
in  that  city  under  Eugenia  Getner.  On  the  ad- 
vice of  Madame  Schumann-Heink  she  sought 
her  fortune  in  New  .York,  and  after  eighteen 
months'  study  with  Madame  Mihr-Hardy  got 
her  opportunity  at  the  Metropolitan. 

Mario  Chamlee,  a  tenor,  born  in  Los  Angeles, 
had  sung  in  his  home  city  with  "La  Scala" 
opera  company,  making  his  debut  as  Nicias  in 
"Thais."  He  then  got  into  vaudeville  and 
worked  his  way  east,  did  some  coaching  and 
sang  at  the  Bialto  for  fourteen  weeks.  He  was 
then  drafted  into  the  artillery.  After  demo- 
bilization he  was  a  member  of  Antonio  Scotti's 
opera  company  for  two  seasons  and  then  got 
his  opportunity  at  the  Metropolitan. 


494       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

In  March,  1921,  there  was  a  novelty  in  the 
way  of  a  South  American  Indian,  one  Capou- 
lican,  who  appeared  in  "The  Polish  Jew" 
as  the  Innkeeper.  Capoulican  had  a  French 
mother  and  was  educated  in  Paris.  "He  had  a 
baritone  voice,  vibrant  and  big,  but  overcharged 
with  vibrato.  His  acting  had  much  vigor  and 
no  small  measure  of  sincerity — unpolished 
effectiveness." 

There  was  also  a  Chilian  baritone,  one  Za- 
nelli,  who  had  a  pleasing  and  lyrical,  but  very 
small  voice. 

The  advent  of  Marie  Jeritza  in  December, 

1921,  was  the  greatest  sensation  for  several 
years.     She  came  from  Vienna,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Baron  Popper.     On  her  return  in  April, 

1922,  from  her  New  York  season  the  Viennese 
went  wild  over  her  and  gave  her  a  tremendous 
reception. 

She  made  her  American  debut  in  "Tosca" 
on  December  1,  1921.  There  was  no  doubt 
about  her  triumph  though  there  was  some  vari- 
ety of  detail  in  the  criticisms.  A  critic  says, 
— "It  is  indisputable  that  Madame  Jeritza 's 
impersonation  of  Tosca  is  one  of  the  most 
touching  and  dramatic  in  the  history  of  the 
opera.  To  find  analogy  for  her  histrionism  one 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     495 

must  revert  to  Milka  Ternina,  creator  of  the 
title  role  in  this  country.  But  the  blonde  Tosca 
of  Marie  Jeritza  combines  the  Visual  loveliness 
of  Emma  Eames  with  the  dramatic  and  subjec- 
tive endowment  of  the  German  soprano.  The 
latest  Tosca  succeeded  as  have  few  of  her  pred- 
ecessors in  the  part  in  lifting  an  ingenious 
melodrama  to  the  plane  of  thrilling  tragedy." 

Another  report  says,  'In  appearance  Ma- 
dame Jeritza  suggests  a  blonde  Sieglinde  rather 
than  the  tawny  Tosca,  whose  dark  Roman 
beauty  has  become  associated  with  the  part. 
Very  quickly,  however,  the  Jeritza  acting  made 
one  forget  the  color  of  her  hair,  for  she  revealed 
so  much  facial  expressiveness,  impetuosity, 
coquetry  and  romantic  allurement  that  she  held 
the  audience  spellbound."  Very  little  in  this 
about  her  singing,  but  he  does  admit  that — 
1  'Madame  Jeritza 's  singing  had  lovely  lyrical 
quality  in  the  sentimental  passages  and  dra- 
matic strength  and  passion  when  the  more 
exacting  moments  came." 

In  brief,  Madame  Jeritza  is  a  great  singing 
actress,  and  her  first  season  at  the  Metropolitan 
established  her  as  one  of  the  chief  favorites. 

In  March,  1922,  a  Spanish  coloratura  so- 
prano, Angeles  Ottein,  appeared  at  the  Metro- 


496       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

politan  as  Rosina  in  "II  Barbiere."  Her  first 
appearance  in  America  was  with  the  Scotti 
Company  on  the  West  coast,  in  1921.  Her  sec- 
ond appearance  in  New  York  was  as  Gilda  in 
"Eigoletto." 

The  report  reads  to  us — * '  Dark,  plump,  quick 
of  motion  and  broad  of  smile,  she  was  as  active 
on  the  stage  as  she  was  merry  and  coquettish. 
Vocally  she  provokes  wonder,  if  not  always  de- 
light, by  vaulting  to  heights  beyond  the  usual 
reach  of  such  voices.  Her  staccato  was  par- 
ticularly clean  cut  and  facile;  indeed  hers 
seemed  almost  a  staccato  voice.  Virtually  none 
of  the  many  sky-rocketing  phrases  sung  by  her 
were  of  gratifying  sound,  and  some  even 
tempted  smiles." 

Alice  Miriam,  who  joined  the  Metropolitan 
two  years  before,  got  her  opportunity,  through 
the  illness  of  Bori,  to  sing  the  title  role  of  "Sne- 
gourotchka ' '  on  February  4,  and  proved  herself 
ready  for  the  test.  It  was  an  impressive  dem- 
onstration of  real  talent,  so  we  are  told,  and  she 
acted  the  part  with  surety  and  finish. 

Giuseppe  Danise,  who  became  a  member  of 
the  Metropolitan  Company  during  this  season, 
was  educated  at  the  Naples  Conservatory.  He 
sang  at  La  Scala  in  Milan  where  he  created  sev- 


The  Metropolitan  Opera  Company     497 

eral  important  roles.  He  was  first  a  lawyer, 
and  then  took  to  music. 

The  end  of  the  season  of  1921-22  completed 
fourteen  years  of  Mr.  Gatti-Casazza's  manage- 
ment of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  and, 
while  this  book  is  devoted  to  singers,  it  is  well 
to  give  a  short  review  of  Mr.  Casazza's  achieve- 
ments. About  one  hundred  and  fifty  works 
were  staged,  of  which  about  one  hundred  were 
novelties  or  revivals,  and  approximately  fifty  of 
them  had  never  been  sung  in  America  before. 
Nine  American  operas  and  one  American  bal- 
let were  produced,  thus  giving  the  American 
composer  a  hearing  in  his  own  land. 

While  there  had  been  sporadic  attempts  at 
Russian  opera  it  had  been  virtually  unknown, 
but  several  works  were  put  on  at  the  Metropoli- 
tan, including  Chaikovsky's  " Pique  Dame," 
and  "Eugen  Onegin,"  Moussorgsky's  ''Boris 
Godounov,"  Rimsky  Korsakov's  "Coq  d'Or" 
and  " Snegourotchka, "  and  Borodine's  "Prince 
Igor."  Lavish  mountings  have  been  the  rule 
and  both  chorus  and  orchestra  have  been 
brought  to  a  high  state  of  efficiency. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   CHICAGO   OPERA   ASSOCIATION 

1912-1922 

ANDREAS  DIPPEL  was  director  of  the  Chicago- 
Philadelphia  Opera  Company  in  1912.  He  re- 
signed the  following  year,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Cleofonte  Campanini,  who  had  been  director 
at  the  Manhattan  Opera  House  in  New  York 
from  1906  to  1909,  and  then  principal  conductor 
of  the  Chicago-Philadelphia  Company,  as  it  was 
then  called. 

With  this  company  Tito  Ruffo,  an  Italian 
baritone,  made  his  American  debut  in  Philadel- 
phia on  November  4,  1912,  as  Rigoletto.  As 
one  of  the  musical  journals  reported,  his  debut 
was  an  event  which  seemed  to  stir  imperturb- 
able and  slow  going  Philadelphia  to  its  deep- 
est depths,  and  Ruffo  received  a  storm  of  ap- 
plause. His  reputation  as  Rigoletto  had  pre- 
ceded him,  and  was  justified  by  his  perform- 
ance, for,  aside  from  his  remarkable  vocal 
equipment,  he  was  also  a  revelation  as  an  actor. 

498 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       499 

"His  voice,  a  baritone  that  ranges  unusually 
high,  is  of  lovely  quality,  smooth  and  mellow. 
It  reflects  every  emotion  sounded  by  him  in  his 
marvellously  intelligent  and  faithful  reproduc- 
tion." 

He  appeared  also  in  "Un  Ballo  in  Maschera" 
in  Philadelphia,  and,  on  November  19,  gave  his 
only  performance  for  the  season  in  New  York 
with  the*  Metropolitan  company,  when  he  sang 
Hamlet.  This  was  considered  a  bold  under- 
taking, for  many  noted  singers  had  essayed 
"Hamlet"  and  failed  to  make  the  opera  popu- 
lar. The  critic  of  the  Tribune  omits  any  criti- 
cism of  Buffo's  singing  on  that  occasion,  but 
says  "the  bare  announcement  of  his  name  filled 
the  house  to  suffocation,  and  when  he  sang  the 
drinking  song  hundreds  of  people  grew  frantic 
in  their  exhibition  of  delight." 

Tito  Ruffo  was  born  at  Pisa  in  1878  and  was 
educated  at  the  St.  Cecilia  Conservatory  in 
Rome,  where  he  was  a  pupil  of  Persichini,  and 
later  of  Cassini  in  Milan.  It  is  said  that  he  was 
dismissed  from  the  St.  Cecilia  Conservatory 
and  advised  to  give  up  singing,  but  Cassini 
taught  him  gratuitously,  and  in  1898  he  made 
his  debut  at  the  Costanzi  Theatre  in  Rome,  as 
the  Herald  in  "Lohengrin."  He  gained  his 


500       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

first  successes  in  South  America,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Italy  and  appeared  in  several  thea- 
tres with  success.  In  1905  he  sang  at  La  Scala, 
in  Milan,  and  in  1912,  when  he  sang  with  Ca- 
ruso in  Paris,  he  made  a  great  sensation. 

During  the  past  ten  years  he  has  appeared 
many  times  in  America,  and  has  become  one  of 
the  most  popular  of  opera  singers. 

In  November,  1913,  Campanini  presented  a 
young  soprano,  Kosa  Eaisa,  then  twenty  years 
of  age.  She  appeared  in  Philadelphia  with  the 
Chicago  company,  singing  the  part  of  Queen 
Isabella  in  "Cristoforo  Colombo"  with  Tito 
Buffo  in  the  title  role.  The  part  is  a  small  one, 
but  the  report  says  "the  young  Italian  soprano 
used  her  limited  opportunity  to  good  advan- 
tage .  .  .  and  sang  the  ' Vision'  aria  fluently 
and  satisfactorily." 

Rosa  Raisa,  however,  is  not  Italian.  She  was 
born  in  Ballystock,  Poland,  and  travelled  over 
Poland  as  a  child  singer.  When  she  was  four- 
teen years  of  age  there  was  a  pogrom,  but  she 
managed  to  escape  from  Poland  and  she 
reached  Naples,  where  she  was  befriended  by 
a  family  who  were  lovers  of  music  and  who  soon 
noticed  the  quality  of  her  voice  as  she  sung  Rus 
sian  folk  songs.  She  was  placed  under  Ma- 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       501 

dame  Barbara  Marchisio  at  the  conservatory 
at  St.  Pietro  a  Majella. 

She  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  Campanini 
and  her  debut  took  place  at  the  Verdi  Centenary 
at  Parma  in  one  of  the  operas  of  Verdi's  early 
period,  "Oberto  Conte  di  San  Bonifacio,"  orig- 
inally produced  in  1839.  She  then  came  with 
Campanini  to  America  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Chicago  Opera  Association  for  two  seasons, 
after  which  she  was  away  for  two  years. 

In  1914  she  appeared  at  Covent  Garden,  and 
in  the  same  year  created  the  part  of  the  title 
role  in  Zandonai's  "Francesca  di  Rimini"  at 
the  Costanza,  at  Rome,  repeating  it  at  La  Scala 
in  1916.  She  also  sang  in  South  America  be- 
fore returning  to  Chicago. 

Few  singers  have  caused  more  discussion 
among  critics.  When  she  sang  Leonora,  in  "II 
Trovatore"  in  Chicago  (1918)  with  Dolci,  the 
report  says  she  sang  divinely,  and,  in  combina- 
tion with  Dolci,  it  was  almost  beyond  descrip- 
tion. 

In  1920,  in  a  revival  of  "Norma," — "In  the 
singing  of  Rosa  Raisa  were  paired  splendor 
and  crudity,  rudeness  and  exaltation.  Such  vo- 
calism  is  received  with  an  incessant  conflict  of 
emotions.  Beyond  question  this  voice  has  not 


502       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

its  equal  in  America  today.  ...  Of  what  mar- 
vellous bel  canto  possibilities  if  she  will  only  tu- 
tor herself  to  the  eradication  of  the  faults,  and 
curb  somewhat  the  conflagration  of  her  temper- 
ament. Such  moments  of  incredible  magnif- 
icence as  the  final  appeal  to  Orovesty,  and  out- 
pouring of  golden  tonal  fire,  vibrant  with  an 
emotion  beyond  the  reach  of  words,  almost 
earned  pardon  for  prior  flaws.  .  .  .  Eaisa  must 
be  accepted  as  a  striking  and  noble  personality 
with  a  gorgeous  voice  which  she  may  not  always 
use  with  discretion  .  .  .  withal  she  compels  at- 
tention and  arouses  enthusiasm." 

In  1922  she  completed  her  sixth  consecutive 
year  with  the  Chicago  Opera  Association.  In 
1920  she  married  Giacomo  Rimini,  a  baritone 
of  the  same  company.  She  is  a  singer  to  be 
heard. 

Madame  Louise  Berat,  a  French  contralto, 
joined  the  Chicago  Company  the  same  season  as 
Rosa  Raisa  and  remained  two  years.  She  re- 
turned to  France  in  1915  to  enlist  in  the  Red 
Cross  service,  and  returned  a  year  later  to  the 
Chicago  Company.  Madame  Berat  had  ap- 
peared at  all  the  leading  opera  houses  in  France 
and  had  created  the  role  of  the  Mother  in 
11  Louise"  at  Covent  Garden. 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       503 

Cyrena  van  Gordon  who  joined  the  Chicago 
Opera  Association  in  1913,  making  her  debut 
on  Nov.  29  as  Amneris,  is  a  native  of  Camden, 
O.,  near  Cincinnati,  and  her  real  name  is  Po- 
cock.  She  had  all  her  musical  training  in  Cin- 
cinnati where  she  was  a  pupil  of  Madame  Dotti. 
She  never  studied  in  Europe,  but  was  engaged 
by  Campanini  and  had  to  learn  Amneris,  Azu- 
cena,  The  Queen  in  "  Hamlet ",  Fricka  and  Or- 
trud  in  order  to  make  a  start.  She  has  impos- 
ing stage  presence  and  admirable  authority  of 
manner,  though  she  had  no  lessons  in  acting. 
She  steadily  grew  and  some  of  the  later  reports 
are  excellent ;  for  instance,  in  1920,  after  a  per- 
formance of  "II  Trovatore"  we  find,  "Her 
voice,  with  its  youthful  exuberance  and  tonal 
glory,  dominated  the  scene,"  and  in  1921,  after 
her  appearance  as  BrunnTiilde,  "She  showed 
herself  in  every  bit  of  acting,  every  fragment 
of  music,  a  mature  artist,  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant Brunnhildes." 

Myrna  Sharlow  is  a  native  of  Jamestown,  No. 
Dak.,  but  went  to  Louisville,  and  studied  sing- 
ing there  and  in  New  York  and  Boston.  Her 
first  stage  experience  was  gained  at  the  Knick- 
erbocker Theatre  in  New  York,  but  she  joined 
the  Boston  Opera  Company  in  1912  and  ap- 


504       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

peared  in  small  parts.  She  was  assigned  the 
part  of  Mimi  at  a  popular  priced  Saturday  eve- 
ning performance,  and  took  that  part  in  the 
same  company  when  Melba  was  to  have  sung  it 
and  was  indisposed.  She  has  a  full,  fresh  so- 
prano voice,  with  a  character  of  its  own.  It 
has  much  sensuous  beauty.  She  was  not  more 
than  twenty  years  of  age  when  she  made  her 
first  success  in  opera.  She  joined  the  Chicago 
Company  after  the  collapse  of  the  Boston  Com- 
pany. 

In  January,  1914,  Florence  Macbeth  made 
her  first  appearance  with  the  Chicago  Opera 
Company  as  Rosina  in  "II  Barbiere."  In  the 
preliminary  announcements  it  was  stated  that 
she  was  a  young  singer  from  the  West  who 
would  acquire  international  reputation  soon. 
She  was  pretty  as  a  picture,  twenty-two  years 
old,  and  seems  to  have  conquered  the  hearts  of 
the  European  public.  The  prophecy  has  been 
fulfilled. 

Miss  Macbeth  is  a  native  of  Mankato,  Minn., 
and  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's  Hall,  Fari- 
bault,  Minn.  She  took  singing  lessons  with 
Mrs.  Snyder  in  St.  Paul  and  then  became  a  pu- 
pil of  Yeatman  Griffith  in  Pittsburgh  and  later 
in  Europe.  She  made  her  operatic  debut  at 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       505 

Darmstadt,  as  Gilda  in  January,  1913,  where 
she  was  offered  a  contract  for  five  years,  but 
refused  it  as  she  did  not  want  to  spend  all 
her  time  in  Germany.  She  had  no  foreign 
teacher  except  an  Italian  who  coached  her  in 
opera. 

In  November,  1914,  she  appeared  in  New 
York  with  the  Century  Opera  Company  as 
Olympia  in  "The  Tales  of  Hoffmann";  but  she 
returned  to  the  Chicago  Company  when  it  re- 
sumed operations.  In  addition  to  her  operatic 
work  Miss  Macbeth  has  been  heard  with  most 
of  the  leading  musical  societies  in  concert.  In 
1921,  before  the  Chicago  Company 's  New  York 
season  ended,  she  sang  Ophelia,  with  Buffo  as 
Hamlet,  and  received  a  great  ovation.  In  fact, 
it  is  reported  that  the  audience  called  her  out 
again  and  again  and  insisted  on  her  singing 
"Annie  Laurie,"  which  was  flattering,  if  in- 
consistent. 

Miss  Macbeth 's  voice  is  a  coloratura  soprano 
of  delightfully  pure  quality,  and  she  has  made 
sensational  successes  with  Mozart  arias. 

Louise  Edvina,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mar- 
tin, is  a  dramatic  soprano  who  joined  the  Bos- 
ton Opera  Company,  in  1911,  appeared  with 
the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company  in  1915,  mak- 


506       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

ing  her  New  York  debut  as  Tosca,  and  her  Chi- 
cago debut  Nov.  16,  1916,  as  Louise,  which  is 
said  to  be  her  favorite  role. 

Madame  Edvina  is  a  native  of  Montreal, 
where  she  was  educated  at  the  convent  of  the 
Sacred  Heart.  She  studied  singing  in  Paris 
with  Jean  de  Eeszke  and  made  her  operatic 
debut  at  Covent  Garden  in  1908  as  Marguerite 
in  "Faust."  She  appeared  at  Covent  Garden 
each  season  till  1914,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Boston  Opera  Company  from  1911  till  1913. 
She  sings  most  of  the  modern  French  roles,  and 
created  the  parts  of  Fiora  in  Montemezzi's 
"I/  Amore  del  Tre  Re"  and  Francesco,  in  Zan- 
donai's  "Francesca  da  Eimini"  when  they  were 
given  at  Covent  Garden.  On  the  occasion  of 
her  New  York  debut  a  critic  wrote,  "A  single 
act  of  Tosca  abundantly  vindicated  her  right  to 
the  most  solicitous  consideration,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  opera  one  could  but  wonder  that 
she  had  remained  away  from  New  York  so 
long." 

Madame  Marguerite  Beriza,  who  was  en- 
gaged by  Campanini,  and  appeared  in  Oct.  1915, 
had  also  been  a  member  of  the  Boston  Com- 
pany in  1913-1914.  She  was  born  in  England 
but  educated  in  France,  studying  music  at  Mar- 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       507 

seilles  where  she  took  first  prize  for  pianoforte 
at  the  Conservatoire.  She  made  her  operatic 
debut  at  the  Opera  Comique  in  1907,  and  sang 
in  Brussels  and  Buenos  Ayres  before  coming  to 
Boston.  She  was  considered  a  dramatic  so- 
prano and  sang  such  parts  as  Louise,  Tosca  and 
Santuzza.  She  was  graceful,  animated,  dra- 
matically intelligent,  a  better  actress  than 
singer.  Her  upper  tones  are  shrill  and  thin, 
but  she  has  the  gift  of  individualizing  any  role 
she  undertakes. 

There  was  no  opera  in  Chicago  during  the 
season  1914-1915,  but  things  went  on  as  usual 
the  following  year  and  a  rather  unusually  large 
number  of  new  singers  appeared. 

Alice  Verlet  (van  der  Hyde),  a  Belgian 
singer,  made  her  debut  with  the  Chicago  com- 
pany as  Filina  in  "Mignon."  She  is  a  native 
of  Belgium  and  was  educated  there.  She  was 
touring  America  in  1914  and  1915  and  joined 
the  Chicago  Opera  Company.  Her  voice  is 
brilliant,  of  silver-like  quality,  and  at  her  debut 
she  made  a  very  fine  impression,  and  had  fif- 
teen curtain  calls.  She  was  with  the  company 
only  one  season. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Frease-Green,  who  had  been 
abroad  for  four  years,  singing  in  London,  Paris 


508       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

and  Berlin,  returned  to  her  native  land  and 
joined  the  Chicago  company.  She  had  made 
her  debut  in  London  as  Sieglinde  in  "Die 
Walkiire."  In  Berlin  she  created  the  part  of 
Cleopatra  in  Enna's  opera  of  that  name. 

Conchita  Supervia,  a  young  Spanish  soprano, 
made  her  debut  as  Charlotte  in  "Werther,"  and 
is  recorded  as  a  comely  young  woman  with  a 
voice  which  has  carrying  power  and  a  fresh 
youthful  quality,  pleasant  to  hear. 

Marcia  van  Dresser,  a  native  of  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  made  her  debut  as  Elisabeth  in  "Tann- 
hauser"  in  a  performance  which  was  charac- 
terized by  good  traditional  training.  Her  voice 
is  of  rich,  warm  quality  and  her  acting  is  fin- 
ished. 

Miss  van  Dresser's  first  engagement  was 
with  the  "  Bostonians. "  She  was  then  quite 
young.  Augustin  Daly  advised  her  to  take  up 
the  dramatic  profession,  and  she  appeared  in 
"The  Great  Buby"  at  Daly's  Theatre,  New 
York,  and  was  for  three  years  in  a  theatrical 
company.  Then  Conried  heard  her  sing  and 
urged  her  to  abandon  drama  for  opera,  and  she 
was  soon  at  the  Metropolitan  in  small  parts. 
Advised  next  by  Ternina  and  Mottl,  she  went 
abroad,  and,  after  three  years  study,  got  an  en- 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       509 

gagement  at  the  Dresden  Royal  Opera,  where 
she  remained  for  two  years  and  sang  twenty 
roles.  She  was  next  at  the  Municipal  Opera 
at  Frankfort  till  the  war  broke  out,  when  she 
returned  to  America  and  joined  the  Chicago 
Company  for  a  year. 

In  1915  two  noted  tenors  joined  the  Chicago 
Company,  Ferrari-Fontana,  and  Lucien  Mura- 
tore.  The  former  has  already  been  mentioned 
as  a  member  of  the  Boston  and  Metropolitan 
companies. 

Muratore,  also,  first  appeared  in  Boston,  but, 
when  the  war  broke  out,  he  was  called  to  the 
colors,  served  in  the  army  and  did  not  get  back 
to  America  till  Jan.  1916. 

Born  at  Marseilles,  he  studied  at  the  Conser- 
vatory and  graduated  with  prizes  for  solfeggio 
and  diction  in  the  musical  and  dramatic  depart- 
ments. At  the  age  of  twenty  he  appeared  in 
" juvenile  leads"  at  the  Variete,  in  Paris,  and 
a  year  later  at  the  Casino  at  Monte  Carlo.  The 
following  year  he  was  leading  man  with  Ma- 
dame Bejane  at  the  Odeon  in  Paris.  In  the 
mean  time  he  had  continued  the  study  of  sing- 
ing, and  when  he  entered  the  opera  he  had  the 
poise  and  experience  of  a  finished  actor.  His 
operatic  debut  occurred  at  the  Opera  Comique. 


510       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Soon  afterwards  he  was  engaged  for  the  Paris 
-Grand  Opera,  and  appeared  in  Gluck's  "Ar- 
mide."  Many  leading  roles  were  assigned  to 
him,  and  Campanini  captured  him  for  Chicago. 
But  the  war  broke  out  and  he  served  with  the 
colors  till  he  was  discharged  on  Sept.  17,  1915, 
and  when  his  health  was  restored  he  resumed 
his  career  as  a  singer,  joining  the  Chicago  Com- 
pany. 

He  is  a  man  of  splendid  physique,  of  com- 
manding presence,  fashioned  by  nature  for 
roles  of  heroism  and  romantic  exploit  and,  as 
one  critic  says,  "his  art  permits  him  to  assume 
with  success  any  role  short  of  a  decapitated 
midget. ' ' 

A  writer  in  Musical  America  says, — "He  is  a 
great  actor,  but  he  is  also  a  great  singer.  The 
last  dozen  years  have  only  one  other  instance 
of  a  like  equilibrium  achieved  and  maintained 
between  so  great  a  beauty  of  vocal  and  dramatic 
expression, — I  refer  to  Olive  Fremstad.  To 
me  Muratore's  voice  is  the  most  thrilling  I 
know.  .  .  .  Never  sensual,  Muratore's  art  pos- 
sesses that  fascinating  quality  of  sensuous  re- 
finement,— of  passion  thrice  intensified  because 
of  th'e  kind  of  restraint  its  imaginative  deli- 
cacy imposes  on  it. ' ' 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       511 

Another  critic  says,  "Muratore  has  a  full  and 
noble  voice  which  is  not  skillfully  employed. 
As  a  singer  he  is  wholly  without  finesse.  In 
forte  passages  its  trumpet  quality  and  reso- 
nance stir  the  audience." 

His  repertoire  includes  most  of  the  modern 
French  operas. 

Alfred  Maguenat,  a  French  baritone,  made 
his  debut  at  a  Saturday  matinee  as  Guido  in 
"Monna  Vanna"  at  Chicago,  and  disclosed  a 
voice  of  fine  texture,  finished  style  and  author- 
ity. 

Maguenat  is  a  native  of  Paris,  of  Swiss  par- 
entage. He  was  educated  to  be  a  painter  and, 
while  studying  in  the  Latin  quarter  of  Paris, 
was  urged  by  his  fellow  students  to  cultivate 
his  voice.  In  1907,  after  two  years  of  study, 
he  made  his  debut  at  the  Opera  Comique.  In 
1914  he  created  the  role  of  Marc  Anthony  at 
Monte  Carlo.  He  was  singing  Escamillo  in 
Paris  when  Campanini  heard  him  and  engaged 
him  for  Chicago,  where  he  has  been  a  very  val- 
uable member  of  the  company. 

Giulio  Crimi,  a  tenor,  made  his  Chicago  de- 
but as  Rhadames  in  "A'ida,"  and  at  the  same 
performance,  Nov.  13,  1916,  Giacomo  Rimini, 
baritone,  appeared  as  Amonasro. 


512       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Crimi  comes  from  Catania  where  he  got  his 
education  by  means  of  scholarships,  and  later 
earned  his  living  by  acting  as  a  copyist  in  his 
spare  hours.  He  took  the  government  exam- 
ination for  telegraph  and  post  office,  and  was 
the  first  of  one  thousand  students.  Then  his 
voice  was  discovered  by  Matteo  Aderno,  and  in 
due  course  he  appeared  as  an  opera  singer, 
making  his  debut  at  Treviso  in  "Le  Wally"  in 
1913.  He  also  created  the  parts  of  Paolo  in 
Zandonai's  "  Paolo  and  Francesca,"  and  Hein- 
nec  in  an  Aztec  opera  of  that  name  by  an  Ar- 
gentine composer.  He  sang  at  Covent  Garden, 
Madrid  and  Milan,  also  South  America  before 
coming  to  this  country. 

Both  Crimi  and  Rimini  have  remained  mem- 
bers of  the  Chicago  Company  for  some  years, 
and  Rimini  married  Rosa  Raisa. 

The  sensation  of  the  decade  was  the  intro- 
duction to  the  American  public  of  Amelita 
Galli-Curci  in  Chicago,  and  in  New  York.  In 
fact  a  New  York  critic  wrote,  "  Galli-Curci 
comes  nearer  perfection  than  any  soprano 
heard  during  the  present  generation. 

Amelita  Galli  was  born  at  Milan,  Italy,  and 
educated  at  the  Liceo  Alessandro  Manzoni,  from 
which  she  was  graduated  with  first  honors  as 


Study  by  George  M.  Kesslere,  B.  P. 

AMELITA    GALLI-CURCI    AS    LAKME 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       513 

a  linguist.  She  received  her  musical  education 
at  the  Conservatory  in  Milan,  graduating  as  a 
pianist.  She  is  said  to  have  had  no  vocal  train- 
ing whatever,  but  to  have  secured  a  hearing  at 
the  Costanzi  through  the  influence  of  Gennaro 
Curci,  whose  brother  she  married.  She  sang 
"Caro  Nome"  and  secured  a  contract,  making 
her  debut  in  "Rigoletto"  at  the  Costanzi,  in 
Rome,  in  1910.  Then  followed  six  years  of 
singing  in  the  theaters  of  Europe  and  in  South 
America  where  she  was  in  the  same  company 
with  Caruso,  Tito  Ruffo  and  Rosa  Raisa.  It 
is  said  that  she  was  denied  a  hearing  in  New 
York,  the  Metropolitan  Company  being  full.  It 
is  also  reported  that  Campanini  had  almost  to 
be  forced  to  give  her  a  hearing,  which  he  did 
through  the  intercession  of  Rosa  Raisa.  But 
on  hearing  her  he  immediately  engaged  her,  and 
she  made  her  American  debut  in  Chicago  on 
Nov.  18,  1916,  singing  Gilda  in  "Rigoletto." 
Although  she  made  a  wonderful  success  as 
Gilda  it  was  surpassed  when  she  appeared  as 
Lucia, — "She  sings  and  acts  with  an  artistic  in- 
sight which  makes  her  delineations  stand  forth 
with  striking  distinction." 

The  critic  of  "The  Theatre"  wrote  in  1917, 
"Opinion  places  Galli-Curci  in  the  group  with 


514       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Melba,  Sembrich  and  Tetrazzini.  Her  voice, 
three  octaves  in  range,  is  admitted  to  be  more 
pure  and  beautiful  than  that  of  Tetrazzini,  while 
she  is  able  to  vocalise  with  the  same  consum- 
mate skill  as  Sembrich.  She  is  an  unusually 
intelligent  actress  as  well  as  a  great  singer, 
bringing  poise  and  sincerity  into  each  of  her 
characterizations.  Her  Juliet,  Gilda,  Lucia, 
Violetta,  Lakme, — each  is  a  well-rounded, 
adroitly  finished  portrait,  a  living  creation  of 
fascinating  or  commanding,  or  romantic  wom- 
anhood. She  speaks  six  languages,  has  intel- 
lect, charm  and  vivacity  of  mind." 

"Mephisto"  in  Musical  America  commented 
thus, — "Much  of  Galli-Curci's  success,  I  think, 
is  due  to  her  absolute  simplicity  and  natural- 
ness. She  has  that  rare  quality,  the  ability  to 
conceal  her  art.  She  is  wholly  unaffected. 
Her  voice  is  steady,  flutelike  in  quality.  She 
never  forces  a  tone.  Many  of  the  finest  points 
are  so  delicate  as  to  escape  all  except  those  who 
know.  If  I  were  to  compare  Galli-Curci  with 
Patti  I  should  say  that  Patti  had  a  wonderfully 
calculated,  artificial,  piquant  way  about  her 
which  was  felt  in  her  singing  and  particularly 
in  her  acting.  Galli-Curci,  on  the  other  hand 
presents  the  character  which  she  plays,  and 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       515 

submerges  her  personality  in  that  character, 
by  doing  which  she  shows  versatility." 

The  story  of  her  New  York  debut,  at  the  Lex- 
ington Opera  House  on  Jan.  6,  1918,  is  quite 
thrilling.  She  appeared  in  "Dinorah"  and  the 
first  part  of  the  performance  brought  out  no 
demonstration.  But  when  she  concluded  the 
' '  Shadow  Song, ' '  all  restraint  vanished.  There 
broke  out  a  "mad  frenzy  of  delight  positively 
terrifying  in  its  wildness,  a  typhoon  of  hys- 
terical approbation  such  as  is  seldom  given  one 
to  witness  more  than  once  in  a  decade.  Noth- 
ing equal  to  it  since  the  debut  of  Tetrazzini. 
Yells,  inarticulate  cries,  stamping,  waving  of 
handkerchiefs,  etc.,  made  a  picture  of  indescrib- 
able elation."  She  was  recalled  more  than 
twenty  times. 

Much  more  might  be  written  of  Galli-Curci 
had  we  space.  She  is  undoubtedly  the  most 
popular  singer  of  this  day.  In  1920  she  got 
a  divorce  from  her  husband,  the  Count,  and 
soon  after  married  her  accompanist,  Homer 
Samuels,  of  Minneapolis. 

On  January  15,  1916,  a  Russian  soprano,  Ma- 
ria Kousnezoff,  made  her  debut  at  Chicago  as 
Juliet,  when  the  reviewer  wrote, — "Of  her  art 
only  praise  may  be  recorded.  Her  voice  has  a 


516       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

very  pleasing  liquid  quality  with  the  freshness 
of  youth,  and  though  not  as  flexible  as  the 
voices  of  some  of  the  famous  coloratura  singers 
of  the  day,  it  is  of  great  charm  and  very  well 
produced.  "Her  petite,  girlish  figure  and  very 
graceful  manner  helped  much  to  make  her 
interpretation  convincing." 

Again,  when  she  appeared  as  Thais,  she  re- 
ceived much  praise,  and  was  considered  a  val- 
uable acquisition. 

She  is  the  wife  of  Jose  La  Salle,  a  well  known 
conductor,  who  is  also  her  coach.  Her  father 
was  a  noted  painter,  and  she  had  a  very  thor- 
ough education  at  Petrograd.  She  was  ac- 
claimed in  Russia  both  as  a  singer  and  a  dancer. 
She  was  also  well  received  in  Spain,  Paris  and 
London. 

In  Chicago  she  took  the  part  of  Cleopatra  at 
the  premiere  of  that  opera,  a  part  which  she 
created  when  it  was  first  produced  at  Monte 
Carlo,  and  which  was  considered  peculiarly 
suited  to  her.  Her  voice  has  not  great  power, 
but  has  dramatic  intensity  and  firmness  of 
timbre.  At  this  performance  Alfred  Mague- 
nat  took  the  part  of  Marc  Antony  and  "came 
into  his  own, ' '  singing  with  fine  distinction  and 
authority. 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       517 

Lydia  Lindgren,  a  young  Swedish  singer,  and 
pupil  of  Frau  Niklass-Kemper,  appeared  in 
February,  and  was  declared  to  be  at  the  begin- 
ning of  a  brilliant  career. 

Irene  Pavlowska,  a  native  of  Montreal,  who 
had  sung  with  the  Montreal  and  Boston  com- 
panies, became  a  favorite  in  Chicago.  She  had 
been  sent  abroad  on  the  advice  of  Madame  Al- 
bani,  and  studied  with  Duvernoy  and  Badelli 
in  Paris. 

Genevieve  Vix,  who  made  her  American  de- 
but in  Chicago,  in  December,  as  Jean  in  "Le 
Jongleur,"  made  a  very  charming  little  juggler 
and  the  audience  liked  her.  Besides  looking 
the  part  Miss  Vix  acted  it  superbly,  and  her 
voice  is  clean,  sweet  and  of  highly  pleasing 
quality,  so  says  the  report. 

Miss  Vix  is  a  native  of  Brittany,  and  was 
awarded  the  first  prize  for  opera  at  the  Con- 
servatoire in  1904,  making  her  debut  at  the 
Opera  in  1905,  since  which  time  she  had  an  ac- 
tive career  in  France,  Spain  and  South  Amer- 
ica. She  was  followed  to  America  by  Prince 
Cyril  Narishkin,  and,  after  they  had  managed 
to  prove  divorces  from  their  previous  spouses, 
they  were  married  in  New  York  in  1918. 

Frances    Peralta,    a    soprano,   appeared   as 


518      The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Leonora  in  "II  Trovatore"  at  a  Saturday  night 
performance  and  made  a  good  impression. 
Her  voice  is  big  and  smooth  and  she  sang  with 
authority.  She  is  a  native  of  San  Francisco. 
She  studied  there  and  in  New  York,  Paris  and 
Milan,  and  sang  in  Italy  for  a  season,  after 
which  she  returned  to  America  and  appeared  in 
light  opera.  She  then  joined  the  Boston  Opera 
Company,  of  which  she  was  a  member  for  two 
seasons.  In  1920  she  made  her  New  York  de- 
but at  the  Metropolitan  as  Elena  in  "Mefis- 
tofele"  and  met  with  approval. 

Carolina  Lazzari,  who  appeared  in  a  minor 
role  in  November,  1917,  is  an  American  of  Ital- 
ian parentage.  Born  in  New  York  she  studied 
singing  in  that  city  with  Wm.  S.  Brady,  after 
being  educated  at  the  Ursuline  Convent  of  St. 
Ambrozio  at  Milan. 

She  has  a  voice  of  great  range,  including  four 
Cs,  of  warm  sympathetic  quality  and  unusual 
charm.  In  Dec.  1918,  she  sang  Delila  when,  we 
are  told,  her  singing  deserved  the  adjective 
1 1  gorgeous. ' '  In  December,  1920,  she  appeared 
at  the  Metropolitan  as  Amneris  in  "Aida"  with 
considerable  distinction. 

Anna  Fitziu,  soprano,  who  joined  the  Chi- 
cago Company  in  1917,  is  a  native  of  Virginia, 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       519 

studied  singing  in  Chicago,  and  went  into  light 
opera  there.  Then  she  went  to  Paris  and  be- 
came a  pupil  of  William  Thorner,  made  her  de- 
but in  Milan  as  Elsa  in  " Lohengrin,'*  and  then 
had  engagements  at  many  of  the  opera  houses 
in  Italy  and  other  countries.  She  has  a  large 
repertoire,  and  in  Chicago  created  the  part  of 
Azora  in  Henry  Hadley's  opera  of  that  name. 

In  the  following  season,  1918-1919,  there 
were  many  new  singers. 

Dora  Gibson,  a  native  of  Durham,  England, 
who  had  made  her  debut  at  Covent  Garden, 
created  the  role  of  Isabeau  in  Eoze's  "Joan  of 
Arc." 

Dorothy  Jardon,  who  sang  the  "Princess  Fe- 
dora" handled  fine  vocal  resources  artistically, 
and  showed  skill  in  acting. 

Marguerite  Namara,  who  had  been  a  member 
of  a  light  opera  company,  is  a  native  of  Cleve- 
land, 0.,  and  after  studying  in  Paris  with  Jean 
de  Reszke,  made  her  debut  as  Marguerite  in 
"Faust"  at  Genoa. 

There  was  also  Marthe  Chenal,  from  the 
Opera  Comique;  Vixa  Amazar,  from  Petro- 
grad ;  and  Yvonne  Gall,  from  the  Paris  Opera. 

Miss  Gall's  first  appearance  was  as  Manon, 
which  she  sang  in  a  lovely  manner,  but  she  was 


520       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

considered  too  placidly  amiable  for  the  charac- 
ter. But  she  gave  a  noteworthy  performance 
of  Salome  in  1919,  and  sang  with  rare  beauty, 
depth  of  feeling  and  expression.  Again,  in 
1920,  she  gave  an  impersonation  of  Tosca  which 
was  reported  as  rather  less  sophisticated  and 
worldly-wise,  and  more  sincere  and  sponta- 
neous than  the  traditional  impersonation.  And 
when  she  sang  Toinette  in  "Le  Chemineau," 
she  was  declared  to  be  in  the  front  rank  of 
French  artists  of  today. 

Marguerite  Sylva  also  appeared  as  Carmen 
after  five  years r  absence  from  America.  She 
is  a  Belgian  and  made  her  debut  at  the  Opera 
jComique.  She  had  sung  much  in  light  opera 
but  had  sung  at  the  Metropolitan  and  in  Chi- 
cago. She  married  Bernard  Smith  of  the  Avi- 
ation Corps. 

There  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  tenors. 
Guido  Ciccolini,  a  boyishly  handsome  young 
man  with  a  lovely,  fresh,  glowing  voice  and  an 
engaging  manner,  sang  the  role  of  Alfred  in 
an  entirely  romantic,  manly  and  winsome  man- 
ner. He  came  from  the  Costanzi  Theatre. 

Alessandro  Dolci  (debut,  Nov.  20)  appeared 
as  Manrico  in  "H  Trovatore,"  and  was  consid- 
ered a  superb  example  of  the  Italian  dramatic 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       521 

tenor.  With  a  voice  of  lovely,  suave  quality 
and  enormous  power,  flexible,  invariably  true  to 
pitch,  he  can  whip  out  high  notes  with  the 
greatest  ease.  When  he  appeared  in  New  York 
he  was  classified  as  a  rejuvenated  Caruso,  and 
caused  a  tumult  of  enthusiasm.  One  critic 
writes,  "His  voice  has  a  lusty  ring  and  he 
could,  if  he  desired,  easily  make  his  points  with- 
out obstreperousness.  But  he  elects  to  pursue 
the  way  off  strenuosity.  Perhaps  he  will  quiet 
down  when  the  strain  of  his  debut  has  de- 
parted." 

Charles  Fontaine  made  his  debut  as  Des 
Grieux  when  Yvonne  Gall  made  hers  as  Manon, 
and  his  chief  merit  was  that  his  voice  was 
young  and  ingratiating.  Later,  as  Faust,  h«i 
is  said  to  have  "fallen  a  few  degrees  short  of 
the  statuesquely  beautiful  pictorial  and  gor- 
geous vocal  exposition  that  has  been  given  by 
one  of  his  predecessors.  A  good  performance, 
vigorous,  youthful  and  enthusiastic." 

John  0 'Sullivan  made  his  debut  as  Arnold  in 
"William  Tell"  and  sang  the  part  in  stunning 
fashion.  He  is  a  native  of  Cork,  but  was  edu- 
cated in  France,  graduating  from  the  Paris 
Conservatoire.  He  made  his  debut,  in  1910,  at 
Geneva.  He  succeeded  Muratore  at  the  Paris 


522       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Opera.  The  Chicago  reviewer  says  that  vo- 
cally he  is  like  no  one  else.  His  voice  has  some- 
thing of  the  tone  of  a  cornet  when  played  by 
a  master. 

In  1919,  Evelyn  Herbert,  soprano,  made  her 
debut  in  "La  Boheme,"  having  never  appeared 
on  any  stage  before.  She  went  from  the  studio 
of  Gina  Ciaparelli-Viaforo  in  New  York,  and 
she  made  a  very  favorable  impression, — "the 
natural  beauty  of  her  voice,  a  sweet,  high,  sil- 
very-toned organ,  her  demure  and  winning 
stage  manners,  extreme  youth,  ease  and  grace 
won  instant  recognition.  Earely  has  a  Mimi 
been  seen  who  so  completely  embodies  the  char- 
acter, and  her  musical  delineation  was  both 
dramatically  and  vocally  admirable.'* 

Nina  Morgana  made  her  Chicago  debut  in 
Nov.,  1919,  as  Lucia  and  was  reported  to  have 
a  clear,  high  voice  of  good  quality  and,  being  a 
petite,  dainty  person,  produced  a  sympathetic 
stage  picture.  She  is  the  wife  of  Bruno  Zirato 
who  was  secretary  to  Caruso. 

Borghild  Langaard,  who  made  her  debut  in 
' '  The  Masked  Ball, "  is  a  Scandinavian  soprano 
who  disclosed  a  rich,  powerful  dramatic  voice, 
and  was  well  drilled  in  operatic  tradition. 

For  tenors  there  were  Tito  Schipa  and  Ed- 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       523 

ward  Johnson.  Schipa  appeared  as  the  Duke 
in  "Rigoletto"  and  made  an  immediate  success. 
His  engaging  personality,  easy  stage  manner, 
graceful  movements  and  dramatic  instinct  won 
the  audience.  His  voice  is  well-placed  and 
evenly  produced,  a  fine  rather  than  robust  or- 
gan. *  *  Such  fluid,  liquid  singing,  such  grace  of 
carriage,  refinement  of  manner  and  dramatic 
fidelity  in  delivery  has  not  been  seen  here  in 
many  years, "  writes  a  critic. 

Schipa  is  a  native  of  Lecce,  Italy.  He  began 
the  study  of  voice  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and, 
after  six  years,  went  to  Milan,  where  he  was 
a  pupil  of  Piccoli  for  one  year.  In  1911  he 
made  his  debut  as  Alfredo  in  "La  Traviata" 
at  Vercelli.  Then  followed  the  usual  round  of 
Italy,  Spain,  Portugal  and  South  America.  He 
has  been  decorated  by  King  Alfonso.  He  made 
his  New  York  debut  in  "  Sonnabula  "  with  Galli- 
Curci  and  was  deemed  one  of  the  most  promis- 
ing young  tenors  heard  in  New  York  for  many 
a  season.  In  1920  he  returned  to  America  with 
a  wife,  whom  he  had  met  at  Monte  Carlo  in 
1918. 

Edward  Johnson,  who  made  his  debut  in 
11  Fedora/ T  was  well  known  as  a  concert  singer 
some  years  ago.  He  sang  at  the  Cincinnati  Fes- 


524       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

tival  and  toured  the  Middle  West  with  the  Chi- 
cago Orchestra.  Bent  on  an  operatic  career,  he 
went  to  Florence  and  studied  with  Lombardi. 
He  made  his  operatic  debut  at  Padua  and  sang 
for  five  years  at  La  Scala  and  Milan;  four 
years  at  the  Costanzi,  in  Borne ;  and  made  two 
visits  to  South  America.  He  is  a  native  of 
Canada. 

His  debut  in  Chicago  was  reported  thus, — 
"He  is  typically  American  in  manner  and  di- 
rectness. He  instantly  won  the  immense  au- 
dience with  his  remarkable  vocal  powers  and 
acting  ability,  as  Count  Loris.  His  opening 
air,  a  romanza,  was  sung  with  rich,  powerful 
tones  and  passionate  utterance.  He  kept  up 
his  high  standard  throughout  and  elicited  much 
enthusiasm. ' ' 

Carlo  Galeffi,  who  joined  the  Chicago  Com- 
pany in  1919,  had  been  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Company,  when  his  singing  was  distinguished 
by  boisterousness.  He  is  a  man  of  commanding 
presence  and  magnetic  personality,  but  lacks 
suavity,  and  smoothness.  He  appeared  in  New 
York  with  the  Chicago  Company  as  Renato,  and 
in  Chicago,  Nov.  17,  1920,  in  * '  Jacquerie ' '  when 
his  "glorious  baritone  voice  with  its  rolling 
sonorous  tones"  brought  favorable  comment. 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       525 

Edouard  Cotreuil,  a  French  baritone,  ap- 
peared as  Rigoletto  in  Dec.,  1919,  and  was  said 
to  have  a  low,  deep  voice  and  commanding  pres- 
ence. He  has  proved  a  useful  member  of  the 
company. 

Dorothy  Frances,  who  appeared  in  Chicago 
in  November,  1920,  as  Musetta,  delighted  the 
audience  with  the  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  her 
singing.  The  following  month  she  appeared 
as  Jocasta  in  "Edipo  Re"  and  showed  herself 
to  be  an  exquisite  artist.  She  made  her  debut 
in  opera  in  1918  with  the  Society  of  American 
Singers  in  New  York,  having  been  a  pupil  of 
Charles  A.  White  in  Boston,  and  later  of  Rich- 
ard Hageman  in  New  York.  In  1919-1920  she 
sang  in  New  Orleans  where  she  acquired  rou- 
tine and  experience,  appearing  thirty-three 
times  as  Carmen,  Musetta,  Santuzza,  etc. 

Olga  Carrara  made  her  Chicago  debut  in 
Nov.,  1920,  in  a  secondary  part  in  "  Jacquerie" 
but  the  following  months  she  sang  A'ida  and 
showed  herself  to  be  a  singer  who  gave 
promise  of  great  achievements,  possessed  of  a 
young  and  fresh  voice  and  with  a  good  sense  of 
acting. 

Cora  Chase,  another  of  the  American  girls 
who  have  met  with  success  in  Europe,  made  her 


526       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

Chicago  debut  in  Feb.,  1921,  as  Gilda  in  "Rig- 
oletto."  She  sang  as  one  well-trained,  and 
made  the  most  of  a  voice  not  in  itself  excep- 
tional. 

Of  tenors,  John  Hislop  made  a  good  impres- 
sion as  Rudolf  o  in  *  *  La  Boheme, ' '  having  a  fine 
lyric  voice.  He  is  a  native  of  Scotland  and  his 
singing  career  has  been  chiefly  in  Scandinavia. 
He  made  his  debut  as  Faust  in  Stockholm,  and 
then  went  to  Italy  to  continue  his  studies.  He 
sang  many  times  at  the  San  Carlo  Opera  House, 
then  appeared  in  London,  and  then  came  to 
Chicago. 

The  biggest  sensation  of  the  season  was  the 
debut  in  "  Otello  "  of  an  American  tenor,  John 
Marshall.  The  occasion  was  also  the  farewell, 
for  the  season,  of  Tito  Ruffo.  Marshall  is  a 
man  of  towering  stature  with  a  voice  of  great 
power.  In  the  duet  with  Ruffo  the  theatre  rang 
with  the  vibrations  of  the  two  titanic  voices. 
Marshall  received  fifteen  or  more  curtain  calls. 
His  Otello,  we  are  told  "might  be  described  as 
one  after  lago's  own  heart.  Bluff  and  bold, 
with  a  measure  of  intensity.  .  .  .  The  use  of  his 
huge  voice  is  not  all  it  might  be,  but  he  has  pos- 
sibilities of  a  great  Samson  as  well  as  a  heroic 
Otello.  His  voice  is  as  big  as  Tamagno  's  and  of 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       527 

much  better  quality."  His  was  the  greatest 
individual  triumph  witnessed  in  Chicago  since 
the  advent  of  Galli-Curci.  He  is  an  American 
and  was  singing  in  Italy  when  he  was  engaged 
for  Chicago. 

The  most  noteworthy  addition  to  the  Chicago 
company  in  1921,  among  sopranos,  was  Maria 
Ivogiin,  a  young  Hungarian,  who  had  studied  in 
Vienna,  and  had  made  her  debut  at  Munich  in 
1914,  when  only  nineteen  years  of  age.  Such 
was  her  success  in  Germany  that  Miss  Garden, 
who  was  then  manager  of  the  Chicago  Opera 
Association,  secured  her  services.  She  had 
appeared  only  once  in  Chicago  before  she  sang 
with  the  Chicago  Company  in  New  York, 
appearing  as  Rosina  in  "II  Barbiere"  and 
"she  left  nothing  to  be  desired." 

Her  voice  is  of  small  calibre,  but  of  exquisite 
texture  throughout.  Her  coloratura  is  flaw- 
less, her  scales,  diatonic  and  chromatic,  clear, 
her  staccati  clean,  and  her  high  tones  round  and 
firm.  Her  trill  when  sung  softly  was  good,  but 
when  she  attempted  a  crescendo  it  had  a  ten- 
dency to  drop  to  a  semitone  interval  and  be- 
come a  reiterated  note." 

She  is  young,  pretty,  lively  and  arch,  capti- 
vating in  her  gesture  and  facial  expression, 


528       The  Grand  Opera  Singers  of  To-day 

adept  in  the  resources  of  comic  action.  She 
has  much  charm. 

Graziella  Pareto,  a  young  Spanish  coloratura 
soprano,  joined  the  Chicago  Company  on  Jan. 
24,  1922,  and  made  her  American  debut  with 
it  in  New  York  at  the  Manhattan  Opera 
House,  as  Violetta  in  "La  Traviata."  She  is 
tall,  slender,  stately  and  proved  herself  a 
singer  of  unusual  capabilities.  Her  voice  is  a 
well-trained  coloratura,  remarkably  pure  in 
tone  and  accurate  in  pitch,  with  an  easy,  flow- 
ing delivery  of  the  vocal  fireworks. 

Madame  Pareto  received  her  musical  educa- 
tion in  Italy,  studying  with  Vidal  in  Milan  and 
later  with  Sibella,  whom  she  married.  Her 
debut  was  made  in  Barcelona,  and  since  then 
she  has  sung  in  Spain,  Italy,  Scandinavia,  Lon- 
don, Mexico  City  and  elsewhere. 

The  Chicago  Opera  Company  has  been 
through  sundry  vicissitudes  since  Andreas  Dip- 
pel  resigned  in  1913.  Under  Cleofonte  Cam- 
panini  it  flourished  artistically  until  his  la- 
mented illness  and  death.  During  his  illness 
Marinuzzi  became  artistic  director,  but  he  re- 
signed, and  Mary  Garden  was  appointed, — the 
first  woman  to  hold  that  office. 

This  year,  1922,  Miss  Garden  has  resigned, 


The  Chicago  Opera  Association       529 

and  a  new  organization  is  formed.  Originally, 
under  Dippel,  it  was  the  Chicago-Philadelphia 
Opera  Company.  Then  it  became  the  Chicago 
Opera  Association.  It  is  now  re-organized  as 
the  Chicago  Civic  Opera  Association,  but,  to 
the  public  it  is  as  welcome  under  one  name  as 
another  if  it  will  provide  opera  of  high  artistic 
standard. 


THE  END 


INDEX 

Part  I 


Abbey,  Henry  E.,  3,  4,  5,  14. 
Abbey  and  Grau,  170. 
Abbey,    Schoeffel    and    Grau, 

121,  250. 

Abott,  Bessie,  54-57. 
Ackte,  Aino,  23,  25,  26. 
Adini,  Ada,  273. 
Aime"e,  Marie,  13,  14. 
Albani,  253. 
Alboni,  191. 
Alda,    Frances,   275-277,   300, 

306. 

Aldrich,  69,  317. 
Aldrich,  Mariska,  211,213-215. 
Allen,  Viola,  26. 
Alien,  Bella,  277,  351. 
Altschevsky,    Ivan,    125,    128, 

154,  174. 
Alvarez,  218. 
Alvarez,  Albert,  6. 
Alvary,  Max,  5,  262,  285,  337. 
Amato,    Pasquale,    139,    286- 

290,  306,  307,  340,  353,  395. 
Amsden,  Elizabeth,  390,  391, 

413. 

Ancona,  125,  174. 
Anthes,  Georg,  12,  13. 
Arenson,  384. 
Arimondi,  Madame,  170. 
Arimondi,  Vittorio,  128,  169- 

171,  174,  204. 
Arral,  Blanche,  307-309. 
Artot,  Desiree,  142. 
Ashforth,  Freda,  55,  56. 


B 


Baklanoff,   George,   305,   319, 

328,  358,  377,  378,  382,  386. 
Banks,  Margaret,  368. 
Barnum,  P.  T.,  15. 
Barrett,  Lawrence,  290. 
Barreau,  414. 
Bars,  Jacques,  23. 
Bassi,  125,  153,  173,  384,  385, 

425,  438. 
Battistini,  130. 
Bax,  216. 
Bazelli,  Madame  (Tetrazzini), 

141. 

Bede,  C.  M.  (Benedict),  281. 
Belasco,  83. 
Benedict,  Claude,  281. 
Berat,  Louise,  434. 
Bertram,  Theodore,  6. 
Bispham,  David,  52,  54. 
Blanchart,   Ramon,   380,  386, 

416. 
Blass,  Robert,  23,  26,  27,   70, 

306. 
Bonci,    Alessandro,    54,    125, 

126,  139,  143,  147-153,  172, 

173,  174,  197,  304,  375. 
Bonci,  Madame,  152. 
Bonheur,  Celina,  383. 
Boninsegna,  Madame,  358. 
Bouhy,  Jacques,  290. 
Boulogne,  Raymond,  379. 
Bourrillon.  Paul,  358,  378,  379. 
Boyer,  397. 
Brandt,  Marianne,  5,  333. 


531 


532 


Index 


Braz,  125. 

Bressler-Gianoli,  125, 127, 144- 

146,  173,  425. 
Bridewell,  Carrie,  10. 
Brignoli,  42. 
Broadfoot  (Cisneros),  127,  146, 

147. 

Brozia,  Zenia,  387,  388,  413. 
Burgstaller,  Aloys,  7,  23,  67, 

70,  94. 
Burkhardt,    Madame    Leffler, 

60,  278. 
Burrian,  Carl,  59,  92,  94-98, 

301,  306,  348,  352. 
Buzzi-Peccia,  Signer,  297. 


Cahier,  Madame  Charles,  328, 

329,  351. 
Calabresi,    11. 
Calv6,  Emma,  5,    16,  23,    24, 

44,  83,   191,  192,  213,  267, 

314. 

Campanari,  52. 
Campanini,  Cleofonte,  89,  133, 

153,  172,  251,  325,  375,  422, 

440,  449. 

Campanini,  L.,  4,  10,  42,  152. 
Campanini,  Mrs.  C.,  130. 
Cantelli,  200. 
Caplet,   449. 

Capoul,  Victor,  4,  55,  56,  75. 
Cappiani,  Madame,  214. 
Carasa,  240. 
Caron,  Rose,  429. 
Carre,  Albert,  216,  379,  406, 

438. 

Cartica,  Carlo,  380. 
Caruso,  Enrico,  23,  28-42,  50, 

74,  112,  126,  130,  147,  151, 

172,    173,    197,    240,    243, 

245,  254,  282,  306.  307,  316, 

318,  349,  351,  359,  373,  374, 

375,  429. 
Carvalho,  401. 
Case,  Anna,  309. 


Cavalieri,    Lina,  73,    74,    84- 

89. 

Cavan,  Georgia,  434. 
Celli,  Madame  Murio,  146. 
Chaliapine,    Feodor,    112-115. 
Chanler,  Robert  W.,  87. 
Chevalier,   179. 
Chevalier,  Albert,  123. 
Chimay,  Prince,  308. 
Chizzola,  13. 
Ciacchetti,  Ada,  39. 
Cima,  169. 

Cisneros,  Count  de,  146. 
Cisneros,    Eleanora    de,    125, 

127,  146,  147,  173,  214,  425, 

445. 
Claessens,    Maria,    358,    370, 

384. 
Clement,    Edmond,    139,   297, 

301-304,  384,  385,  415 
Clement,  Georges,  301. 
Coen,  Felice,  148,  152. 
Coerne,  Louis  A.,  340. 
Collino,  397. 
Colonne,  E.,  163. 
Conried,   Heinrich,  8,   19,  22, 

24,  27,  28,  35,  36,  49-65,  67, 

71,  72,  89,  92,  112,  114,  117- 

121,  131,  132,  153,  157,  245, 

247,  250,  260,  263,  264,  278, 

279,  283,  355. 
Constantineau,  Florencio,  254, 

328,  358,  372-377,  415. 
Conti,  367. 
Converse,      Frederick.       307, 

341. 

Corelli,  Ben.,  282. 
Cornubert,  Pierre,  6. 
Cotogni,  436. 
Cottenet,  R.  L.,  396. 
Courcy,  Florence  de,  393,~414. 
Crabbe,  204. 
Craft,  Marcella,  446. 
Criticos,  190,  191. 
Cushman,  Thomas  L.,  338. 
Cuzzoni,  129. 
Czaploinska,  Madame,  383. 


Index 


533 


D 

Dabney,  Tom,  27. 

Daddi,  425. 

Dalmores,    Charles,    93,    125, 

128,  145,  153,  162-169,  174, 

208,  245,  254,  289,  385,  425. 
D'Alvarez,  Madame,  306. 
Daly,  Augustin,  26,  27. 
Damrosch-Ellis,  6,  290. 
Damrosch,  Dr.  Leopold,  5,  27. 
Damrosch,     Walter,     5,     293, 

340. 

Darclee,  Hariclee,  325. 
Darewski,  214. 
D'Arta,  Kate,  125,  127. 
D'Aubigne,  257. 
D'Aubigny,  26. 
Dauphin,  166. 
Davenport,  Viola,  372. 
Debussy,    Claude,    116,    176, 

181,  201,  202,  205,  395,  400, 

402-404,  433,  438,  450. 
Delattre,  Madame,  232. 
Delna,  Marie,  304,  314-317. 
Dereyne,  Fely,  365,  366. 
Deri,  Mrs.  H.  (Alten),  278. 
Destinn,  Emmy,  266-272,  288, 

306,    307,     340,    351,    359, 

383. 

Didur,  Abramo,  171,  327. 
Dippel,  Andreas,  10,  23,  145, 

243,  244,  260,  261-263,  278, 

295-297,  299,  309,  316,  420, 

428,  430,  433,  434,  436,  439, 

440,  443. 
Donalda,    Pauline,    127,    143, 

144. 

Donizetti,  50. 
Doria,  Augusta,  93,  211,  215- 

217,  218,  223. 

Dresser,  Marcia  van,  23,  26. 
Dufau,  Jennie,  434. 
Duff,  Mrs.,  179. 
Duffault,  Paul,  218. 
Dufranne,    Hector,    93,    204, 

205,  211,  218,  425. 


Dufriche,  143. 
Dugazon,  Madame,  280. 
Dukas,  Paul,  404. 
Dupont,  155. 
Duvernoy,  143. 

E 

Eames,  Emma,  5,  10,  16,  39, 

51,  60,  128,  146,  298,  375. 
Egner,  Minnie,  434. 
Emmerich,  312,  337. 
Engel,  277. 
Evans  and  Hoey,  216. 


Farnetti,  Madame,  125. 
Farrar,  Geraldine,  73-83,  115, 

271,  297,  327,  350,  351. 
Farwell,  Arthur,  189,  225. 
Faure,  399. 
Feinhals,  292. 
Ferguson,  George,  388. 
Ferrabini,  Esther,  392. 
Fevrier,  404. 

Fierson,  Reba  (Gluck),  298 
Finck,  83,  171,  226,  230. 
Fischer,  Emil,  5,  59. 
Fisher,  Bernice,  369,  383,  388, 

389,  416,  444. 

Flahaut,  Marianne,  279,  280. 
Flanders,  Ralph  L.,  357. 
Fleischer-Edel,   93. 
Fontana-Ferrari,  333. 
Fornari,  Rodolfo,  379,  386. 
Fornia,  Rita,  58-60,  351. 
Fortier,  111. 
Freeman,    Bettina,    358,    366, 

367. 
Fremstadt,   Olive,   42-48,   92, 

269,    306,     328,    331,    332, 

351. 

Friedrichs,  6. 
Fry,  W.  H.,  340. 
Fuchs,  Anton,  67. 
Fuente,  De  la,  227. 


534 


Index 


Fuller,  Mrs.  Alvan  T.  (Daven- 
port), 372. 
Fuller,  Loie,  123. 
Fursch-Madi,  4. 

G 

Gadski,  Madame,  23,  24,  25, 

52,  128,  306,  351,  395. 
Gailhard,  56. 
Galeffi,  385. 
Garden,    Mary,    88,    93,    115, 

158,  178-190,  201,  202,  204, 

208,  210,  218,  245,  251,  328, 

402,  425,  432,  433,  440. 
Gatti-Casazza,    41,    58,    260- 

262,  295-297,  299,  304,  324, 

338,  349,  351,  353,  355. 
Gatti-Casazza,    Mrs.    (Alda), 

275. 

Gaudenzi,  Giuseppe,  381,  384. 
Gay,  Maria,  125,  197,  272-275, 

303,  384,  416. 
Gensbacher,  320,  321. 
Gerhardt,  Elena,  139. 
Gerhauser,  Emil,  7. 
Gerville-Reache,  Jeanne,   178, 

190-196,  204,  210,  218,  223. 
Gevaert,  155. 
Giandi,   125. 
Gilibert,  Charles,  8,  9,  10,  125, 

207,  208,  245. 
Gilibert-LeJeune,        Madame, 

125. 
Gilly,  Dinh,  298,  304,  305,  353, 

385. 
Gilman,  Lawrence,  71,  90,  175, 

206,  249. 

Ginsburg,  Giacomo,  396. 
Giraudet,  Alfred,  214,  323. 
Gluck,  Alma,  298-301, 351,444. 
Goertner  (Grenville),  111. 
Goldmark,  367. 
Goritz,  Otto,  306,  327,  353. 
Gorky,  Maxim,  112-114. 
Gossaux,    (Maubourg),    281. 
Grau,  Jacob,  13. 


Grau,  Maurice,  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  12- 
22,  36,  49,  51,  52,  71,  72,  76, 
95,  118,  122,  146,  157,  179, 
250,  264,  275,  308,  355,  448. 

Grau,  Robert,  16. 

Gregor,  Hans,  257. 

Grenville,  Lillian,  111,425,433. 

Gretry,  9. 

Grieg,  Edouard,  330. 

Grippon,  Eva,  218,  314. 

Griswold,  Putnam,  339,  340, 
352,  445. 

Guardavassi,  23,  28. 

Guilbert,  Yvette,  123. 

Guilmant,  A.,  315. 

Guinness,  Mrs.  B.,  396. 

H 

Hale,  Philip,  81,  192,  389,  398, 
408,  411,  413. 

Hall,  Glenn,  323. 

Hamlin,  George,  436,  437. 

Hammerstein,  Oscar,  8,  20,  23, 
64,  72,  73,  87-89,  93,  121- 
124,  132,  144,  145,  153,  154, 
171,  172,  174-178,  180,  192, 
197,  199,  201,  204,  206-209, 
214,  217,  219,  224,  230-232, 
235,  236,  239,  241,  243-258, 
264,  265,  277,  326,  328,  355, 
376,  420,  437. 

Hannah,  Frank,  427. 

Hansen,  Christian,  380,  381. 

Hardman,  Frank  S.,  257. 

Harold,  Orville,  241. 

Heidelbach,  Lillian,  23. 

Henderson,  114,  225. 

Hensel,  Heinrich,  333-337, 
352 

Herbert,  Victor,  340. 

Hertz,  Alfred,  345,  449. 

Hess,  Julius,  14,  215. 

Hidalgo,  Elvira  de,  313,  314. 

Hinckley,  Allen,  291,  292. 

Hinshaw,  William,  327. 

Hoffmann,  Emma,  367,  368. 


Index 


535 


Hoffmannsthal,      Hugo     von, 

219. 
Homer,  Louise,  1,  23,  24,  306, 

307,  358,  395. 
Hooker,  Brian,  343,  347. 
Howe,  Emma,  371,  372. 
Huberdeau,  Gustav,  240,  241, 

437. 

Buddy,  358. 
Huelson,  yon,  267. 
Humperdinck,  Englebert,  326. 


Iretzka,  Madame,  362. 
Issert,  285. 


Jacobs,  Mrs.,  286. 
Jacoby,  Josephine,  23. 
Jadlowker,  Herman,  320-322, 

327,  351,  352,  384,  385. 
James,  William,  310. 
Jamet,  398. 
Joachim,  277. 
Jordan,  Eben,  357. 
Jorn,  Carl,  285,  286,  352. 
Journet,  Marcel,  11,  275. 

K 

Kachmann,  4. 

Kaplick,  397. 

Kaschowska,   Felicie,  278. 

Kellogg,  Clara  Louise,  14. 

Kirkby-Lunn,  Madame,  12,  94. 

Kirmes,  Ella,  372. 

Kit-zer,     Aurelia     (Arimondi), 

170. 

Kloepfer,  Victor,  68. 
Klous,  Augusta  (Doria),  215- 

217. 

Knote,  Heinrich,  61,  62,  94. 
Konig,  Fidele,  56,  430,  431. 
Korolowicz,  Jeanne,  383,  425, 

427. 


Krauss,  Ernst,  23,  27. 
Krehbiel,  227,  317. 
Krull,  Madame,  221,  229. 
Kubitzky,  Alexander,  319. 


Labia,  Maria,  211-213. 

Laborde,  Rosina,  190,  314,  315. 

Lackin,  218. 

Lambert,  Alexander,  406. 

Lamoureux,  163. 

LangendorfT,  Frida,  61. 

Lankow,  Anna,  394. 

Lankow,  Edward,  394,  395, 
414,  445. 

Lara,  de,  6. 

L'Ardenois  (Arral),  307. 

Lasalle,  384,  385. 

Lasalle,  Jean,  5,  314. 

Lassan,  229. 

Leblanc,  Georgietta  (Maeter- 
linck), 400,  401. 

Ledan  (Delna),  315. 

Lehmann,  Lilli,  5,  26,  43,  44, 
83,  128.  312. 

Lehon,  358. 

Lenbach,  Franz  von,  100. 

Leno,  Dan,  123. 

Leoncavallo,  85. 

Leveroni,  Elvira,  371,  372,  384, 
416. 

Levicka,  358. 

Lherie,   143. 

Lightstone  (Donalda),   143. 

L'Huillier,  Mademoiselle,  313. 

Lipkowska,  Lydia,  358,  362- 
365. 

Liszt,  405. 

Loewe-Destinn,  Madame,  266. 

Lofgren,  Madame  de  Berg, 
366,  367. 

Lohse,  286. 

Long,  Madame,  75. 

Longone,  Paul,  427. 

Lorraine,  Alys,  446. 

Louzy,  Pierre,  230. 


536 


Index 


Lucia,  De,  192. 

Ludwig,     Josephine     (Noria), 

111,  310. 
Lyne,  Felice,  256-259. 

M 

Macdowell,  281. 
Maeterlinck,     Madame     (Le- 

blanc),  400-404,  416. 
Maeterlinck,     Maurice,     201, 

400,  403,  404. 
Maglinez,  125. 
Mahler,  Gustav,  27,  98,   112, 

329,  406. 
Malibran,   18. 
Mallinger,  Frau,  312. 
Mapleson,    Colonel,    3,     264, 

448. 
Marcel,  Lucille,  221,  399,  404, 

406-411,  416. 
Marchesi,  Madame,  216,  257, 

276,  308,  392. 
Marcoux,  Vanni,  397-399,  404, 

416. 
Mardones,  Jose",  358,  387,  389, 

390. 

Maretsheck,  449. 
Mariani-Masi,  86. 
Martin,     Riccardo,     281-283, 

307,  338,  351,  384,  385. 
Massenet,  238. 
Materna,  5. 

Mattfield,  Marie,  327,  351. 
Matzenaur,    Margarete,    330- 

333,  350,  351. 

Maubourg,  Jeanne,  280,  371. 
Maud,  Rosita,  314. 
Maurel,  Victor,  4,  139.  192. 
Mazarin,   Mariette,   125,  218, 

222,  223.  229-231,  306. 
McCormack,   John,  238,  239, 

384,  425. 
Melba,  5,  52,  76,  125,  128,  133- 

140,  147,  173,  199,  207,  210, 

217,  276,  359,  375,  391. 
Meisner,  Anna  von,  60,  278. 


Meitschek,    Anna,    306,    358, 

370,  371. 
Melis,  Carmen,  218,  237,  238, 

382,  383,  416. 
Mendolfi,  125. 

Meysenheim,   Madame,  369. 
Mildenburg,     Madame     von, 

407 

Minetti,  367. 
Mirabella,  4. 
Miranda,  Salla,  235. 
Missiano,  Edouardo,  31, 41, 42. 
Mollenhaur,  Emil,  337. 
Monsigny,  9. 

Morena,  Berta,  99-111,  268. 
Mottl.  Felix,  8,  67,  69,  119. 
Murphy,  Lambert,  337,  338. 

N 
/ 

Nagliate,  Major,  33. 
Namara,  Margherita  (Banks), 

368. 

Naval,  F.,  23,  27. 
Neilsen,   Alice,   232,   358-362, 

372. 

Nentwig,  Mrs.  (Neilsen),  359. 
Nevin,  A.,  340. 
Newman,  Rita  (Fornia),  59. 
Nickisch,    Arthur,    323,    374, 

428. 

Niemann,  A.,  5. 
Nilsson,  Christine,  4. 
Nivette,  358. 
Nordica,  Lillian,  4,  16,  51,  52, 

54,  178,  271,  357. 
Noria,  Jane,  111,  310. 
Norvath,  M.  de  (Aldrich),  214. 
Note,  Jean,  285. 
Novara,  4. 

O 

Oerner,  Inga,  330. 
Offenbach,  14. 
Ohrstrom-Renard,  310. 
Olshansky,  Bernardo,  395,  396. 


Index 


537 


Orgeni,  24,  277. 
Orridge,  Theodora,  351. 
Osborn-Hannah,     Jane,     427, 

445. 

Otero,  85. 
Oussotof,  113. 


Padilla,  Artot,  284. 
Paderewski,  Ignace,  6. 
Paine,  J.  K.,  341. 
Parker,  Horatio,  313,  340,  342- 

344   347 
Parker,  H.'  T.,  96,   149,  245, 

247,  364,  389. 
Parnell,  Evelyn,  358,  369. 
Parsifal,  65. 
Pasquali,  Bernice  de,  310-312, 

350,  445. 

Pasquali, Sal vadore  M.de,  310. 
Patti,  Adelina,  18,  28,  59,  134. 
Patti,  Carlotta,  200. 
Pedrotti,  148. 
Perier,  Jean,  204,  205. 
Perosi,  Abbe,  389. 
Picaver,  William,  446. 
Pierce,  Virginia,  358. 
Pinkert,  Regina,  126,  141,  173. 
Plancon,  Pol,  5,  16,  23,  206, 

242,  381,  398. 
Polese,    Giovanni,    243,    244, 

306,  379,  386,  416. 
Possart,  Ernest  von,  44,  101, 

104. 

Potter,  de,  414. 
Preuse,    Madame   E.  (Matze- 

naur),  333. 

Puccini,  198,  345,  433. 
Puente,  Del,  4,  305. 
Pugno,  Raoul,  272. 
Pulcini,  A.,  358. 

R 

Rabinoff,  383. 
Rains,  Leo,  290,  291. 


Randegger,  214. 

Rappold,  Marie,  57,  58,  351, 

383,  444. 
'Ravelli,  42. 
Reger,  116. 

Reiss,  Albert,  94,  327,  353. 
Rembrand,  Mrs.  G.  C.  (Ger- 

ville-Re~ache),  191. 
Remy,  W.  A.,  405. 
Renaud,    Maurice,    125,    128, 

139,   155-162,  174,  207,  210, 

245,  247,  305,  378. 
Rennyson,  Gertrude,  446. 
Renvall,  Mrs.  (Ackt4),  26. 
Ress,  284,  286. 
Reszke",  Jean  de,  1,  5,  7,  16,  42, 

51,  55,  61,  128,  191,  192,  238, 

241,  257,  279,  298,  318,  328, 

393,  394,  406,  407,  431,  432. 
Reszke",  Edouard  de,  1,  4,  5, 

10,  15,  16,  51,  125,  398. 
Reuss-Belce,  7. 
Richter,  Hans,  431. 
Riddez,  Jean,  414. 
Riegelmann,  Mabel,  425,  434. 
Rittl  (Destinn),  266. 
Roberti,  F.,  426. 
Roberts,  Miss,  383. 
Rogers,  Miss,  384. 
Rooy,  Anton  van,  68,  70,  92. 
Rosenberg,  Herman,  334. 
Rosenthal,  152. 
Rossi,  23,  28. 
Rothier,  Leon,  327,  386. 
Rothmuhl,  Nicholas,  284. 
Rousseliere,  Claude,  94,  99. 
Rubinstein,  Anton,  14. 
Russ,  Miss,  127,  173. 
Russell,  Henry,  283,  325,  357, 

360,  363,  366,  367,  375,  378, 

379,  388,  392,  395. 
Ruysdael,  Basil,  327. 


Saenger,  Oscar,  57,  290. 
Saint-Saens,  Camille,  192. 


538 


Index 


Salignac,  143. 
Saltzmann-Stevens,  430. 
Salvini,  14. 
Sammarco,    Mario,    125,    128, 

153,  199-201,  207,  211,  217, 

245,   425. 

Sanborn,  Pitt,  128. 
Sanderson,  Sybil,  179. 
Saone,  A.HeinrichE.  P.de,316. 
Savage,  Henry  W.,  5,  12,  59, 

62,  65,   111,  293,  313,  324, 

339,  393,  447,  448. 
Savage,  Ruby,  383. 
Saville,  Frances,  275. 
Sbriglia,  282,  323. 
Scalchi,  4. 
Schaliapine,  155. 
Scheff,  Fritzi,  10,  52. 
Schmedes,  Eric,  283-285. 
Schuch,  von,  221,  222,  227. 
Schulz-Harinson,  286. 
Schumann-Heink,  52,  54,  128, 

215,  221,  227,  333,  435. 
Sciaretti,  384. 

Scotney,  Evelyn,  391,  392,  415. 
Scott,  Henri,  241-243. 
Scotti,  Antonio,  37,  156. 
Sebastiani,  Carlo,  426. 
Seebach,  Count,  97. 
Seghettini,  11. 
Segurola,     Andreas    de,    207, 

324-326. 

Seidl,  Anton,  5,  43,  262,  449. 
Sembrich,  Marcella,  4,  10,  23, 

37,50,60,  128,  130,  131,  133, 

134,  136-140,  150,  375,  427. 
Serrano,  Madame,  406. 
Seygard,  Camille,  23. 
Shaler,  451. 
Sibiriakoff,  386,  390. 
Sigaldi,  M.,  325. 
Sigrist,  Mademoiselle,  204. 
Silli,  414. 
Skinner,  Otis,  26. 
Slezak,    Leo,    277,    306,    317- 

319,  352,  385. 
Smirnoff,  Dimitri.322,323, 327. 


Smith,  Christian,  231. 
Sohn,  Joseph,  16,  17,  174. 
Soomer,  Walter,  292. 
Sparkes,    Leonora,    278,    307, 

313. 

Stagno,  4. 

Stanaway,  Mabel,  358. 
Starrell,  Marguerite,  434. 
Stiles,  Vernon,  446. 
Stockhausen,  Julius,  324. 
Strathcona,  Lord,  143. 
Strauss,    Richard,    89-91,    94, 

116,  219-221,  224-227,  267, 

283,  394,  407,  450. 
Stroesco,  C.,  358. 
Strong,  Susan,  6. 
Sucher,  Rose,  428. 
Sutphen,  Mrs.  (Fremstadt),  45. 
Swartz,  Jeska,  369. 
Szendrei,  Alfred,  440. 


Tamagno,  42,  318. 
Teresina-Singer,  238. 
Ternina,   Milka,   1,  6,  10,  23, 

24,  68,  69,  101,  128,  192,  434. 
Tetrazzini,    Luisa,    115,    125, 

128-141,  144,  210,  219,  238, 

241,  245,  255,  256,  350,  374, 

375,  434. 

Teyte,  Maggie,  402,  432,  433. 
Thompson,  Fanchon,  23. 
Thursby,  Emma,  75,  436. 
Toscanini,    Arturo,    260,    295, 

296,  349,  350,  449. 
Trabadello,   179. 
Trebelli,  4. 
Tree,  Beerbohm,  232. 
Trentini,  Emma,  218,  236. 
Treville,  Yvonne  de,  393. 

U 

Ulrich,  Bernard,  420. 
Urlus,  Jacques,  395,  411,  412, 
416. 


Index 


539 


Urmenyi,    Baroness    von    (L. 
Weidt),  330. 


Van  Dyck,  94. 

Vannucini,  216. 

Vergine,  Guglielmo,  31,  34,  41. 

Verquet,  216. 

Viardot-Garcia,  60,    191,  278, 

284. 

Vianesi,  214. 

Vietinjhoff-Scheel,  Baron,  286. 
Vieulle,   211. 
Villani,  Madame,  383. 
Vogl,  5. 

W 

Wagner,  Cosima,  7,  61,  65,  67, 

68,   267. 
Wagner,    Richard,    5,    50,    63, 

65-67,  69,  90,  98,  108,  119, 

161,   348. 

Wagner,  Siegfried,  334,  338. 
Wakefield,    Henrietta,    112. 
Walker,  Edythe,  23-25,  223. 
Walker,    Sarah    L.     (Cahier), 

328 

Walter,  Gustav,  334. 
Warnery,  Edmund,  438,  439. 
Warot,  Prof.,  302. 
Wasself  (Marcel),  406. 
Weed,  Marion,  26,  59,  92. 
Weidt,  Lucie,  329,  330. 


Weil,  Herman,  338,  352. 
Weingartner,   Felix,  395,  399, 

404-406,  416,  450. 
Weingartner,    Mrs.    (Marcel), 

404,  407. 
White,  Carolina,  383,  425-427 

415. 

White,  Charles  A.,  369. 
White,  Howard  J.,  387,  389. 
Whitehill,  Clarence,  306,  307, 

323,  324,  445. 
Wickham,  Florence,  312,  313, 

351. 

\Vilde,  Oscar,  90. 
Williamson  and  Musgrove,275. 
Wmant,  Emily,  112. 
Witherspoon,     Herbert,     292- 

293,  307. 

Witherspoon,  Rev.  O.,  292. 
Wittkowska,  Marta,  435,  436, 

445. 


Ysaye,  272. 


Zaccari,  Madame,  125. 
Zenatello,  Giovanni,  153,  178, 

197-199,  207,  217,    46,  275, 

384,  399,  415. 

Zepilli,  Alice,  425,  428-430. 
Zerola,  Nicolo,  239,  240,  306, 

425. 


PART  II 


Aderno,  Matteo,  512. 
Albani,  Mme.,  517. 
Alda,  Frances,  471. 
Althouse,  Paul,  462-464. 
Alvary,  Max,  462. 
Amato,  Pasquale,  460. 
Amazar,   Vixa,   519. 
Arden,  Cecil,  486. 
Arndt,  Arthur,  465. 
Arndt-Ober,   Margarete, 
466. 


Badelli,  517. 
Barrientos,  Maria,  473, 

478. 

Berat,  Louise,  502. 
Berg  Lofgren,  Mme.  de, 
Berger,  Rodolf,  468-469. 
Beriza,    Marguerite,    506 
Bertram,  Enrico,  478. 
Borga,  Colonel,  460. 
Bori,  Lucrezia,  459-461, 

478,  496. 

Botta,  Luca,  470-471. 
Brady,  William  S.,  518. 
Braslau,   Sophie,  464 
Braun,  Karl,  468. 
Breen,  Elizabeth,  464. 
Buzzi-Peccia,   464,    486. 

C 

Campanini,     Cleofonte, 
500,  501,  503,  506,  510, 
513,  528. 


465- 


476- 

481. 
507. 

471, 


498, 
5U, 


540 


Capoulican,  494. 
Carpi,   Fernando,  481. 
Carrara,   Olga,  525. 
Caruso,  Enrico,  460,  487,  500, 

513,  521,  522. 
Cassini,  499. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  486-487. 
Chamlee,  Mario,  493. 
Chase,  Cora,  525-526. 
Chenal,  Marthe,  519. 
Ciaparelli-Viaforo,  Gina,  522. 
Ciccolini,  Guido,  520. 
Claussen,    Captain    T.    C.    F., 

486. 

Claussen,  Julia,  486. 
Clement,  Edouard,  478. 
Conried,  Heinrich,   508. 
Cotreuil,  Edouard,  525. 
Cottone,  478. 

Cousinou,  Robert,  487,  491. 
Crimi,  Giulio,  492,  511-512 
Cristalli,  Italio,  467. 
Curci,  Count,  513,  515. 
Curci,  Gemnaro,  613. 


Daly,  Augustin,  508. 
Danise,  Giuseppe,  496-497. 
Deri,  Max,  474. 
Dippel,    Andreas,    498,     528, 

529. 
Dolci,    Alessandro,    501,    520- 

521. 

Dotti,  Mme.,  503. 
Dresser,  Marcia  van,  508-509. 
Duvernoy,  517. 


Index 


541 


E 


Eames,  Emma,  495. 
Easton,  Florence,  484-485. 
Edvina,  Louise,  455,  505-506. 
Eversman,  Alice,  480. 


F 


Farrar,  Geraldine,  461. 

Ferguson,  George,  483. 

Ferrari-Fontana,  Edouardo, 
455,  469-470,  509. 

Fitziu,  Anna,  518-519. 

Flint,  Willard,  493. 

Fontaine,   Charles,  521. 

Ford,  Mrs.  Seabury,  461. 

Frances,  Dorothy,  525. 

Frease-Green,  Rachel,  SOT- 
SOS. 

Fremstad,  Olive,  462,  474, 
485,  510. 

G 

Gadski,  Madame,  462. 
Galeffi,   Carlo,   524. 
Gall,  Yvonne,  519-520. 
Galli-Curci,  Amelita,  512-515, 

523,  527. 

Garden,  Mary,  527,  528. 
Garrison,    Mabel,    472-473. 
Gatti-Casazza,  460,  465,  470, 

476,  497. 

Gentle,  Alice,  488-489. 
Getner,  Eugenia,  493. 
Gibson,  Dora,  519. 
Gigli,  Beniamo,  492. 
Gordon,  Cyrena  van,  503. 
Gordon,  Jeanne,  491-492. 
Griffith,   Yeatman,   504. 
Griswold,  Putnam,  462. 
Gustafaon,  William,  493. 


H 

Hackett,  Charles,  489-491. 
Hageman,  Richard,  525. 
Hammerstein,  Oscar,  476. 
Haslam,  Elliott,  485. 
Hempel,  Frieda,  456-459,  473. 
Herbert,  Evelyn,  522. 
Hislop,  John,  526. 
Homer,  Louise,  487. 
Hubbard,  Arthur  J.,  489. 
Hiilson,   Count,   457. 
Hyde,  Alice  van  der,  see  Ver- 
let,  Alice. 


Ivogiin,  Maria,  527-528. 
J 

Jardon,  Dorothy,  519. 
Jeritza,  Marie,  494-495. 
Johnson,  Edward,  523-524. 

K 

Kahn,  William  B.,  459. 
Keene,  George,  476. 
Kousnezoff,    Maria,    515-516. 
Kurt,  Melanie,  474-476. 


Langaard,  Borghild,  522. 
La  Salle,  Jose,  516. 
Lazaro,  Hippolito,  486. 
Lazzari,  Carolina,  518. 
Lehmann,  Lilli,  474. 
Lehmann,  Marie,  474. 
Leschetisky,  474. 
Liridgren,  Lydia,  517. 
Lombard!,  487,  524. 
Luca,  Guiseppe  de,  479-480. 
Luck  stone,  461, 


542 


Index 


M 

Macbeth,    Florence,    504-505. 
Maclennan,  Francis,  484,  485. 
Maguenat,  Alfred,  511,  516. 
Mahler,  Gustav,  471. 
Mandolin!,  467. 
Marchisio,      Mme.      Barbara, 

501. 

Mardones,  Jose,  487. 
Marinuzzi,   528. 
Marshall,  John,  526-527. 
Martin,     Miss,     see     Edvina, 

Louise. 

Martinelli,  Giovanni,  467-468. 
Mason,  Edith,  478-479. 
Matzenaur,    Marguerite,    462, 

469. 

Melba,  Nellie,  504,  514. 
Mihr-Hardy,  Mme.,  493. 
Miriam,  Alice,  496. 
Montesante,  Luigi,  491. 
Morena,  Berta,  474. 
Morgana,  Nina,  522. 
Mottl,  Felix,  508. 
Muratore,    Lucien,    455,    509- 

511,  521. 
Muzio,  Claudia,  480-481. 


N 


Namara,  Marguerite,  519. 
Narishkin,  Prince  Cyril,  517. 
Niklass-Kemper,     Frau,    457, 
517. 


Ober,  Mme.,  see  Arndt-Ober, 

Margarete. 
Ohlson,   Julia,   see   Claussen, 

Julia. 

O'Sullivan,    John,   521-522. 
Ottein,  Angeles,  495-496, 


Pareto,  Graziella,  528. 
Patti,   Adelina,  514. 
Pavlowska,  Irene,  517. 
Peralta,   Frances,  517-518. 
Persichini,  479,  499. 
Peterson,    May,    482-484. 
Piccoli,  523. 
Polock,    see    Gordon,    Cyrena 

van. 

Ponselle,  Carmila,  488. 
Ponselle,  Rosa,  487-488. 
Popper,   Baron,  494. 
Proebstel,  Jacob  R.,  489. 


R 


Raisa,     Rosa,     500-502,     512, 

513. 

Rappold,  Marie,  469. 
Rejane,   Mme.,    509. 
Reszke,    Jean    de,    472:    506, 

519. 
Rimini,    Giacomo,    502,    511, 

512. 

Robeson,   Lila,   461-462. 
Ruffo,  Tito,  498-500,  505,  513, 

526. 
Russell,  Henry,  470. 


Saenger,  Oscar,  461,  463,  473. 
Salisbury,  Gertrude  Franklin, 

482. 

Samuels,  Homer,  515. 
Sapio,    Romualilo,    491. 
Savage,  Henry  W.,  487. 
Schipa,  Tito,  522-523. 
Schumann,     Elizabeth,     473- 

474. 

Schumann-Heink,  Mme.,  493. 
Scotti,  Antonio,  471,  493,  496. 
Sembach,  Johannes,  471-472, 


Index 


543 


Sembrich,  Marcella,  459,  471, 

514. 

Sharlow,  Myrna,  503-504. 
Sibella,   464,   528. 
Siemonn,  George,  473. 
Smith,   Bernard,  520. 
Snyder,  Mrs.,  504. 
Stephens,   Percy  Rector,  463. 
Stock,  Frederick,  483. 
Stolzenberg.    Benno,   465. 
Sundborg,  Marie,  see  Sundel- 

ius,  Marie. 

Sundelius,  Dr.  G.,  481. 
Sundelius,    Marie,    480,    481- 
482. 

Supervia,   Conchita,  508. 
Sylva,  Marguerite,  520. 


Tamagno,  526. 
Taucke.  H.  J.  493. 
Telva,   Marion,  493. 
Ternina,  Milka,  485,  495,  508. 
Tetrazzini,    Luisa,    477,    514, 
515. 


Thorner,  William,  488,  519. 
Trix,  Ralph,  491. 

U 

Urlus,  Jacques,  462. 
V 

Vanzo,  478. 

Vergine,  Guglielmo,  471. 

Verlet,  Alice,  507. 

Vidal,  Melchior,  460,  528. 

Vix,  Genevieve,  517. 

W 

Wagner,  Cosima,  457. 
White,  Charles  A.,  525. 
Witherspoon,  473. 


Zanelli,  494. 
Zirato,  Bruno,  522. 


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